Allanson Street Primary School

About Allanson Street Primary School

Allanson Street Primary School is a state primary in St. Helens that is clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 112 applications for just 59 places, with 68 families listing it as their first preference. That oversubscription ratio of 1.9 tells you local parents are keen to get their children in. The school currently has 448 pupils against a capacity of 480, so it is running close to full but with a little headroom. What really stands out is the intake profile: 48.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average and signals a community with significant socio-economic challenges. The school is non-religious and co-educational, taking children from age 3 through to 11, with nursery provision on site. Given the high FSM rate, the school is clearly serving a diverse and disadvantaged catchment, and the oversubscription suggests it has built a strong local reputation despite those challenges.

Academically, Allanson Street performs around the middle of the pack in St. Helens. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 60% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is just a shade below the local authority average of 61%. The school ranks 24th out of 47 primaries in St. Helens on this measure, placing it in the bottom half locally and the bottom half nationally. Looking at individual subjects, reading and writing both saw around 71-72% of pupils hitting the expected standard, while maths was slightly lower at 69%. Higher standard attainment was modest: 31% in reading, 17% in maths, and just 7% across all three subjects. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 confirmed it remains Good, with leadership and management also rated Good. This is a drop from its previous Outstanding rating in 2015, but the ungraded inspection in 2024 judged that the school has maintained its Good standard.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including an ICT suite, art studios, a library, a sensory room, and a forest school area, which is a nice bonus for outdoor learning. Sports provision covers athletics, cricket, cross country, netball and dance, and there are clubs for choir, gardening and chess. SEND support is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a realistic option for families whose children need additional support. The school is oversubscribed, so anyone considering it for a Reception place should definitely put it as a first preference. It suits families who value a genuinely inclusive, community-focused primary with good facilities and a strong pastoral offer, rather than one chasing top-tier academic results. The nearest Outstanding-rated alternative is Parish Church of England Primary School, 1.5 km away, for those who want to compare.

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