Lowercroft Primary School

About Lowercroft Primary School

Lowercroft Primary School sits within Bury local authority, a mixed state primary for children aged 4 to 11. In the most recent local rankings, it placed 29th out of 46 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the bottom half of its cohort. The top-performing peers nearby include Emmanuel Holcombe Church of England Primary School, Sunny Bank Primary School, and Chantlers Primary School, the latter being the nearest school rated Outstanding, just 0.9 kilometres away. Lowercroft itself holds a Good rating from Ofsted, confirmed in its most recent graded inspection in 2020, with a subsequent ungraded visit in January 2025 noting that standards were maintained. The school is led by headteacher Janine McGadie and serves 226 pupils, just four short of its capacity of 230. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 6.6 per cent, well below the national average, and the school has no religious character.

Academically, Lowercroft's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show 60 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is slightly below the Bury local authority average of 64 per cent. In reading, 71 per cent met the expected standard and 26 per cent reached the higher standard, while in maths the figures were 74 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. Writing saw 66 per cent at expected and just 9 per cent at the higher level. Average scaled scores were 104 in both reading and maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the 55th percentile among all primaries, and within the North West region it sits around the midpoint. Ofsted's breakdown from the 2020 graded inspection rated every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — as Good. The previous inspection in 2007 had rated the school Outstanding overall.

The school is significantly oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 72 applications for just 20 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.6, though all 14 first-preference applicants were offered a place. Facilities include a sports hall, sensory room, art studios, ICT suite, forest school, music rooms, outdoor playground and a chapel. Clubs range from coding and chess to art, science, book club and choir, while sports on offer include tennis, rounders, netball and dance. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. Parent View responses from 70 families between September 2024 and September 2025 show 57 per cent would recommend the school, though responses were mixed: 78 per cent felt their child was happy (strongly agree or agree), but only 34 per cent agreed that SEND children receive the support they need, with 47 per cent strongly disagreeing. This is a school that suits families who value a broad range of facilities and activities, but those with children with SEND may want to investigate further.

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