Northway Primary School

About Northway Primary School

If you’re a parent in Sefton weighing up Northway Primary School, the numbers suggest it’s a popular choice. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 119 applications for 44 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.7. That means nearly three families applied for every spot, and 43 of the 53 first-preference applicants were offered a place. It’s a clear signal that local parents rate the school highly, even if official parent-view data isn’t available here. The school is a state primary for mixed genders aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site, and it’s run by headteacher Kate McKenzie. With 359 pupils on roll against a capacity of 315, it’s operating above its official limit, which adds to the sense of a school in demand. Just 11.4 per cent of pupils qualify for free school meals, a figure below the national average, suggesting a relatively mixed but not disadvantaged intake.

Academically, Northway’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 judged the school to be Good overall, with leadership and management rated Outstanding. That’s an upgrade from the previous graded inspection in 2013, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good but gave leadership and management a 2 (Good) rather than the current 1. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 55 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That’s slightly below the Sefton local authority average of 59 per cent, and it places Northway 39th out of 59 primary schools in the borough. The school’s national percentile ranking of around 70 means it sits in the bottom half of schools across England on this measure. Individual subject scores are more mixed: 77 per cent hit the expected standard in writing, but only 61 per cent did so in maths, and 66 per cent in reading. Higher-standard attainment is low, with just 7 per cent reaching the higher bar in reading, writing and maths combined.

Northway offers a decent spread of facilities, including a library, forest school area, art studios, music rooms, an ICT suite, sports hall, playing fields and an outdoor playground. There’s also a chapel on site. Clubs range from science and coding to chess, choir, art and gardening, while sports provision includes gymnastics, football, cricket, dance and tennis. For children with additional needs, the school lists support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Given the oversubscription, applying as a first preference is wise. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is St Thomas Church of England Primary School in Lydiate, just half a kilometre away, so Northway sits in a competitive local market. This school will suit families who value a Good-rated, well-subscribed community primary with strong leadership and a broad range of activities, even if its academic results are middling compared with the local average.

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