Emmaus School
Introduction
Choosing a school for your child is a huge decision and hopefully the information contained in this section will help you as you seek to make wise choices for your child’s education. Emmaus School is founded on Christian principles to educate children from 5-16 years in a caring, stable family atmosphere of love and respect. We would love to show you round our school, as nothing beats seeing a school in its normal, everyday routine. We offer your child the opportunity to do the same thing through experiencing a taster day. We also hold Open Day events. For more information about our upcoming events or to arrange a visit to Emmaus School please contact us at info@emmaus-school.org.uk or call the School Office to arrange an appointment.
The Curriculum
The Bible is central to all that is taught at Emmaus School, not in a false, forced way, but in a natural, God-centred way, so that the children learn that it was God who both created and sustains this universe and makes life meaningful. You can read more about the curriculum here.
The Curriculum for Reception to Year 6
We believe in striking a balance between traditional curriculum values and ensuring that pupils have plenty of opportunity to learn through doing and experiencing. Undoubtedly, reading is the key to unlocking the rest of the curriculum and Primary school teachers invest a lot of time to ensure pupils have the best possible start in learning to read.
Primary pupils also gain solid foundations in mathematics, spelling and handwriting by following carefully planned schemes of work and using a wide range of the best curriculum materials available. Some of these curriculum materials are ‘Emile’ www.emile-education.com and 'Letterjoin' www.letterjoin.co.uk Through studying science, history, geography and Scripture, pupils gain an understanding of God's wonderful world, but there is still plenty of opportunity to develop creativity in music and art, and physical skills in PE and sport, as well getting an early start in modern foreign languages in French lessons. Play is important, too, and pupils make good use of the outdoor area for structured play and free recreation, as well as learning the basic skills through maths and language games.
The Curriculum for Year 7-11
We continue to build on the excellent work of the Primary Department and widen the curriculum to include subjects such as ICT, Food Technology and modern foreign languages, whilst still maintaining the balance of academic study and rich cultural experiences. Pupils are increasingly encouraged to take more responsibility for their own studies and become more independent learners. This stands them in good stead, should they decide to continue their studies at one of the local 6th Forms.
At GCSE Level, pupils normally take a core of 5 subjects: mathematics, English language, English literature, French and one of the sciences. Most students opt for another 3 or 4 subjects choosing from the following: chemistry, biology, physics, history, RE, geography, ICT, music, art, food technology and PE.
Many of the GCSE courses lead to International GCSE qualifications, which have long been considered to be academically rigorous, thorough and excellent preparation for A Level, or the increasingly popular International Baccalaureate. Year after year, pupils gain excellent academic results which can be viewed on the School’s website. Year 10 and 11 pupils are also offered careers guidance and take part in work experience.
Pupil Assessment
Pupils’ progress is monitored by annual tests in reading and spelling which allow teachers to compare pupils to the national average in each year group. The Cognitive Abilities Test (GL Assessment) is used annually from Year 4 to test the children’s potential in the 3 areas of verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning and, in the secondary department, these tests give accurate predictions of the GCSE grades individual pupils can be expected to achieve. Since it is not possible to ‘teach to the test’, lessons are devoted to teaching rather than preparing pupils to perform well in tests. Pupils also take end of topic tests throughout the year and senior pupils have an annual exam week in the summer term.
Provision for pupils with learning difficulties, disabilities or those for whom English is not their first language
The School has limited means to adequately staff and resource pupils with specific needs, however, consideration will be given to pupils with learning difficulties, disabilities, or those for whom English is not their first language. Each pupil's application is considered on its own merit, taking into account whether the School is adequately staffed and resourced to meet the individual pupil’s needs. Where a child has an Education Health and Care Plan, or special educational, physical or pastoral needs, the School will discuss with the parents what the School is able to offer, which may involve additional cost to the parents.
Extra-curricular Activities
Pupils are encouraged take advantage of the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. School events throughout the year offer the pupils opportunities to perform in singing, drama and music ensembles. Private music lessons are available during the School day. There are after school clubs in football, multi-sports, choir and drama. The school offers the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
The pupils organise a School Council and Christian Union themselves and thereby gain useful life and leadership skills, as well as serving the school and wider community through fundraising and other charitable ventures. Throughout the year, educational visits are arranged to support the curriculum and broaden the children’s cultural experiences. Visits to museums, galleries, science lectures and the theatre are arranged, as well as field trips, residential trips and exchange visits to France.
ISI Inspection Reports
Testimonies
For first hand accounts of how parents and children have enjoyed and appreciated life at Emmaus School, click here
School Admissions and Application Form
For further information about Emmaus School admissions, please download a copy of the admissions policy. There's also a download available of the application form.
If you have any further queries or would like to arrange a visit to Emmaus School, please feel free to contact us by email or by telephone during school hours.
APPLICATION FORM Reception BLANK.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [590.7 KB]
APPLICATION FORM Transfer BLANK.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [588.1 KB]
Emmaus School Term Dates
GCSE Results
GCSE Results 2026
Well done to our Y11 pupils and their teachers for another year of excellent results. This year we had a cohort of 4 pupils, with abilities that ranged from some special education needs to outstanding. 1 pupil achieved a 100% pass rate at the higher grades (9-7). Our Year 10 pupils who took RE a year early also did very well. 80% of them achieved the higher grades (9-7).
Emmaus School is a non-selective school which has small cohorts each academic year, and this means that our statistics have the potential to vary quite widely year on year. Reporting results as a percentage when cohorts are small is often not helpful, nor does it tell the whole picture. It does, however, provide some anonymity for individual pupils. We were delighted this year with our results which show just much all pupils benefit from high-quality teaching in small, well-managed classes. As a non-selective school, we have a variety of abilities, and it is a testimony to the quality of teaching and the hard work of the students that 100% of pupils achieved at least 5 GCSEs, at grades 9-4.
Here are some of the headlines:
100% of pupils achieved grades 9-4 in all their exams.
100% of pupils passed GCSE Maths
100% of pupils passed GCSE English.
1 pupil achieved 100% pass rate at the higher grades (9-7)
International GCSEs
At Emmaus School, pupils take Edexcel International GCSEs in the following subjects: English, history, geography, chemistry and physics. IGCSE stands for “International General Certificate of Secondary Education”. It is equivalent to the GCSE qualification which is taken by students in Year 10 – 11 in the UK to prepare them for further pre-university level study, such as A-levels.
The IGCSE is the ‘international’ version of the GCSE as it is available in many countries around the world. In the UK, the IGCSE is typically taught at international schools or private schools, rather than at state schools, and it is recognised in the UK and internationally as the gateway to further academic study in 6th form colleges, universities and both in the UK and beyond.
IGCSEs have long been a popular choice in independent schools as historically they were viewed more rigorous and offered more stability due fewer Government-led changes. IGCSEs were first made available in state schools in 2010, but have now been phased out to reflect the move to reduce the amount of coursework required in the GCSE examination to the absolute minimum, and the greater emphasis on the final exam, after two years of study. This means that there are now very few differences between IGCSEs and GCSEs, and providers of the IGCSE examinations have robust measures in place to ensure a fair comparison with GCSE results.
CAT Results
CAT Results 2025
Every October, pupils in Years 4-11 take the Cognitive Abilities Test which is produced by GL Assessment and is widely used by schools in the independent and state sectors. This enables the School to track the progress of each pupil annually against national data, and for the older pupils, it gives a useful prediction of how they are likely to perform at GCSE Level.
Year on year, the CAT tests show high standards of achievement by Emmaus School pupils, despite the fact that the School does not select pupils on the basis of their ability. The headlines for the 2025 tests are as follows:
Language
92% of pupils are at least average, and 60% of pupils are above average
Maths
92% of pupils achieved at least average, and 62% of pupils are above average.
Non-verbal
97% of pupils are at least average, and 59% are above average
Spatial
100% of pupils are at least average, and 70% are above average.
Pupils with Special Educational Needs
86% of pupils with SEND achieved at least average in language tests, and 43% are above average.
In maths, 71% of pupils achieved at least average, and 29% achieved at least above average.
Reading and Spelling Results 2025-2026
Spelling and Reading Test Results June 2026
Each year, pupils from Years 1 – 9 are tested in reading and spelling using tests supplied by GL Assessment – The Suffolk Reading Test and the Nelson Single Word Spelling Test. These standardised tests indicate how our pupils are doing compared with the national average.
Reading
The results remain very strong with over half of pupils performing at an above average level in reading. In reading, 92% of pupils achieved average or above and we are pleased that in primary 63% of pupils achieved above average results.
Spelling
Over 90% of pupils achieved average/above average results.
SEN and EAL
75% of SEN pupils achieved average or above average in reading and spelling.
Over 60% of EAL pupils achieved at least average results in reading and 75% of EAL pupils achieved at least average results in spelling.
The Amazing Story behind Emmaus School
The Story of the new Christian Schools - Sylvia Baker and David Freeman
Prayer prepares the way
In the early 1970s, some Christians in Bradford-on-Avon became concerned about the need for a Christian school in their area. They held some meetings in their church,
but nothing concrete ever came of it. For some of them, the burden remained and they prayed through the years that God would eventually establish a school, even though by now it was too late for
their own children to benefit from it. Click here to read the chapter from this book which tells
the story of Emmaus.
The book is available from Christian
Focus and Amazon.
Print 