Old Town Primary School

About Old Town Primary School

Old Town Primary School in Calderdale stands out sharply against the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes. The LA average for primary schools sits at 59, but Old Town has earned an overall Ofsted rating of Outstanding, a distinction held by only seven of the 82 primary schools in the borough. That alone signals a school performing well above the typical Calderdale primary. The school’s most recent graded inspection, in November 2023, awarded top marks across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — all rated Outstanding. This is a clear upgrade from its previous Good rating in 2016, when early years provision and leadership were both judged as Requires Improvement. For parents comparing options, the gap between Old Town’s current rating and the LA average is striking: this is a small school that has not just met but exceeded local norms.

Academically, the school’s Ofsted report confirms that pupils achieve highly, though specific Progress 8 or SATs scores are not published in this data. The Outstanding rating for quality of education suggests strong teaching and curriculum design. With only 85 pupils on roll against a capacity of 105, the school operates below its maximum, which may allow for more individual attention. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 17.6%, slightly above the national average, yet the school has still managed to secure Outstanding outcomes — a sign that it supports a diverse intake effectively. The school’s previous inspection noted weaker early years provision, but the 2023 report shows that area has been turned around completely. For a primary of this size, consistency across all year groups is a notable achievement, and the data suggests that pupils leave Old Town well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Old Town offers a broad range of facilities for a small primary, including music rooms, an ICT suite, art studios, a forest school, a library, playing fields, and an outdoor playground. Sports include cricket, rounders, dance, athletics, football, and tennis, while clubs cover coding, chess, choir, art, gardening, and drama. The school’s SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language issues, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions data for 2025/26 shows the school is oversubscribed: 11 places attracted 22 total applications, with 11 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2:1. This suggests strong local demand. Old Town would suit families who value a small, inclusive primary with strong academic outcomes and a wide extracurricular offer, particularly those with children who have identified SEND needs.

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