Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

About Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School sits in a tricky spot when you compare its headline KS2 results against the Lancashire local authority average. The LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 60%, but Bretherton’s figure is 56% — four percentage points below the norm. That places the school 37th out of 46 primary schools in Chorley, firmly in the bottom half of the local rankings and in the bottom 50% nationally. The picture is more mixed when you look at individual subjects: 81% of pupils hit the expected standard in maths, which is solid, and the average maths score of 104 is respectable. Reading and writing expected rates are 75% and 63% respectively, so the combined figure is dragged down by the writing result, where no pupils achieved the higher standard at all. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 rated it Good overall, a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2012, but still a clean sweep of Good across all categories including behaviour, leadership and early years provision.

On academic outcomes, Bretherton’s KS2 results show a school that performs adequately in core subjects but doesn’t push many pupils into the higher bands. In maths, 31% of pupils achieved the higher standard, and 25% did so in reading, but in writing that figure was 0%. The average reading score of 105 and maths score of 104 are both slightly above the national average of 100, so the school is getting most children to a solid baseline. However, the combined expected rate of 56% is below the LA average, and the school’s ranking of 281 out of 480 Lancashire primaries of the same type reflects that. There are no progress scores available in the data, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to starting points. The Ofsted report from November 2023 noted Good quality of education, behaviour and personal development, and leadership, which suggests a well-run school even if the exam results don’t stand out against local peers.

Bretherton is a small village primary with 107 pupils on roll, just over its official capacity of 105, and it’s heavily oversubscribed: for 12 places in the 2025/26 intake, there were 59 applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of nearly 5 to 1. That level of demand suggests strong local reputation despite the middling KS2 scores. The school offers a decent range of facilities including a library, sports hall, music rooms, ICT suite, art studios and a chapel, plus clubs like choir, coding, science club and eco club. Sports provision covers gymnastics, swimming, netball and tennis. SEND support is listed for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and moderate learning difficulties. With a Church of England character and a headteacher in Alison Moxham, this is a school that will suit families who prioritise a small, community-focused setting with strong demand and a Good Ofsted rating, but who are comfortable with results that sit slightly below the local average in combined KS2 measures.

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