Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

About Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School in Rochdale received a Good rating from Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in March 2024, a significant improvement from the Requires Improvement judgement it had been given just two years earlier. The school was rated Good across all five key categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. On the most telling exam metric for a primary school, 50% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits below the local authority average of 58% for Rochdale and places the school 39th out of 52 similar schools in the borough, putting it in the bottom half of local primaries. Nationally, it ranks in the 80th percentile, meaning roughly one in five schools nationally scored lower on this combined measure.

Looking more closely at individual subjects, the picture is mixed. In reading, 63% of pupils reached the expected standard, with 8% achieving the higher standard. Writing fared slightly better, with 67% at expected level, though no pupils reached the higher threshold. Maths saw 54% at expected and none at the higher level. The average scaled scores tell a similar story: 103 in reading and exactly 100 in maths. The school does not publish progress scores for any of the three core subjects, so it is not possible to see how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. Given that 54.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, the school is working with a cohort that faces significant economic disadvantage. Ofsted noted that behaviour and attitudes were Good, and that personal development was also Good, which suggests a stable environment for learning.

The school is oversubscribed for Reception entry in 2025/26, with 23 applications for just 7 places and only 5 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.29. It is a Roman Catholic voluntary academy for mixed pupils aged 5 to 11, with a current roll of 142 against a capacity of 168. Facilities include a sensory room, chapel, sports hall, art studios, music rooms, ICT suite and an outdoor playground. Sports offered include football, netball, cricket, tennis, athletics, rounders and gymnastics, while clubs range from science and coding to chess, book club and film club. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. For families prioritising a faith-based primary with strong pastoral support and a recent upward trajectory in its Ofsted rating, Alice Ingham is a genuine local option, though the high oversubscription means securing a place is competitive.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents