Swimbridge Church of England Primary School
Voluntary aided primary school in Barnstaple (Devon).
Location
iSchool location from Get Information about Schools. Nearby schools are coloured by phase. Open Map+ for a full-screen map with neighbourhood deprivation (England only).About
Swimbridge Church of England Primary is a village school , situated in a beautiful rural setting in North Devon . It has served its close-knit community for over 150 years . We have around 1 00 pupils, arranged in four classes who are supported by an experienced, highly skilled team of teachers and enthusiastic support staff.
Our dedicated team strive to raise standards and promote a calm and purposeful but stimulating atmosphere which makes learning exciting and enjoyable through high quality lessons within a creative curriculum. Set in a quiet location , surrounded by beautiful countryside , we offer a historical building with various outdoor areas to learn and play.
We have three playgrounds and a forest school garden area on site and a large school field and nature area just across the village road. We also make good use of the local Jubilee Hall and enjoy celebratory events at St James Church, just a five minute walk away.
Indoors, there are classrooms filled with happy, enthusiastic learners surrounded by working walls full of colourful displays of children's art and writing.
In the school’s own words, from the school website.
Enrichment
18 activitiesiFound on the school website by WhatSchool. Not verified by Governance Register; the school website is the authority.- Basketball
- Choir
- Computing
- Cross Country
- Football
- Gardening
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
- Lego
- Music
- Netball
- Orchestra
- Rounders
- Rugby
- Swimming
- Tennis
and 2 more
Key facts
- URN
- 113455
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Local authority
- Devon
- Constituency
- North Devon
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
Governing body (7 current, 3 former)
Maintained school governing body.
Leadership
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Ted Picken | Chair of Governors | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2022 · until 2030 |
Full governing body
| Name | Role | How appointed | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs Jade Ruby | Governor | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2026 · until 2030 |
| Revd Cathy Scoffield | Governor | Ex-officio foundation governor (appointed by foundation by virtue of the office they hold) | since 2025 |
| Zoe Buffery | Governor | Parent appointed by GB/board due to no election candidates | since 2024 · until 2028 |
| Mr Dan Polak | Governor | Ex-officio by virtue of office as headteacher/principal | since 2023 |
| Miss Louise Coates | Governor | Appointed by LA | since 2023 · until 2027 ends 2027 |
| Mrs Claire Holm | Governance Professional - Local Authority Maintained SchoolGovernance professional | since 2022 | |
| Luke Isley Former | Governor | Foundation/sponsor members | since 2024 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Angela Ward Former | Governor | Parent appointed by GB/board due to no election candidates | since 2023 · term ended 2026 |
| Mrs Penny Lewis Former | Governor | Elected by school staff | since 2022 · term ended 2026 |
Source: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools (governance records, as at 25 October 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Names are shown as published; there are no addresses or contact details. Current and former are worked out from term end dates when the page loads. Object or ask for removal · Report an issue with this record