Chesterton Primary School

About Chesterton Primary School

Chesterton Primary School sits within the Staffordshire local authority, a large county with 308 primary schools of the same type. In the Newcastle-under-Lyme area specifically, the school ranks 25th out of 35 primaries when measured by the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That places it in the bottom half of its immediate local peers, and some distance behind the three top-performing schools in the same area: St John's Catholic Primary School, Woodseaves CE Primary Academy and Needwood CofE Primary School, each of which achieved a perfect ranking score. Chesterton is a state-funded, mixed primary for children aged 2 to 11, with a nursery on site. It has no religious character and is led by headteacher Helen Swindells. The school is significantly smaller than many in the area, with 177 pupils against a capacity of 210, and it serves a community with high levels of disadvantage — 58.2 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals.

Academically, Chesterton's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2021 rated the school Good overall, a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2019 when it was judged Inadequate. The turnaround is reflected in the breakdown: behaviour and attitudes were rated Outstanding, while quality of education, personal development, early years provision and leadership and management all received Good. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 58 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Staffordshire local authority average of 65 per cent. No pupils achieved the higher standard in all three subjects. Looking at individual subjects, reading had the strongest expected rate at 74 per cent, with maths and writing both at 68 per cent. Average scaled scores were 103 for reading and 102 for maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the 62nd percentile, and within the West Midlands region it sits at the 61st percentile.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a library, playing fields, a forest school, art studios, music rooms and a chapel. Sports provision covers gymnastics, swimming, rounders, athletics, cross country and netball, and there are clubs for coding, science, choir and book club. Chesterton has an extensive range of SEND provisions, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: 40 applications were received for 17 places, with all 17 first-preference applicants offered a place, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.35. This is a school that has made a clear improvement journey and suits families looking for a small, inclusive primary with strong pastoral care and a wide range of enrichment activities, particularly those who value the forest school and creative arts provision.

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