Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary School

About Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary School

Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary School is a state-funded, mixed primary in Hyndburn, Lancashire, led by headteacher Julie Green. It sits within a local authority where 31 out of 480 primary schools hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating, though Baxenden itself is rated Good. Among the 31 primary schools in Hyndburn, it ranks 9th by the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths — placing it comfortably in the top third of its immediate local area. The top-performing peers in the same authority are Crawford Village Primary School, New Longton All Saints CofE Primary School, and St George's Church of England Primary School in Chorley, each scoring higher on the same metric. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in Haslingden, about 4.1 km away. With a capacity of 210 and 207 pupils on roll, Baxenden is nearly full, and its Church of England character gives it a defined place in the local school landscape.

In its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated the school Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management, early years provision, and behaviour and attitudes. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2014, when it was rated Requires Improvement. Academically, 61% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 — just above the Lancashire local authority average of 60%. Reading and maths both saw 82% of pupils reach the expected level, while writing lagged slightly at 67%. At the higher standard, 39% achieved in reading, 27% in maths, and 18% in writing, with 6% hitting the higher benchmark across all three subjects. Average scaled scores were 107 in reading and 106 in maths. Nationally, the school sits in the 54th percentile among all primaries, and in the 51st percentile within the North West region, placing it squarely in the middle of the national distribution.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 59 applications for 30 places, with 36 first-preference applications and 30 first-preference offers — a ratio of nearly 2:1. Facilities include a dining hall, outdoor playground, ICT suite, playing fields, sensory room, art studios, music rooms, and a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, swimming, netball, dance, cricket, athletics, and rounders, while clubs include coding, chess, choir, eco club, drama, and gardening. SEND support is available for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a solid, well-subscribed local primary that suits families seeking a Good-rated Church of England school with a broad range of activities and a clear improvement trajectory from its previous inspection.

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