Penketh Primary School

About Penketh Primary School

Penketh Primary School holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a step down from the Outstanding grade it received in its previous inspection back in 2009. The inspection report awarded Good across all five key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. But the real story is in the school’s academic outcomes. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 84% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is well above the Warrington local authority average of 69%, placing Penketh 7th out of 55 primary schools in the area — comfortably inside the top 10. The school also scored a ranking score of 84, putting it in the top 6% nationally. For a relatively small primary with just 208 pupils, these results are striking.

Digging deeper into the SATs data, the school’s strengths are clear. In reading, 94% of pupils met the expected standard and 34% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 108. Maths was similarly strong: 88% at expected and 38% at the higher standard, with an average score of 107. Writing saw 88% at expected and 19% at the higher level. These figures show a school that is not just coasting at the expected level but pushing a significant proportion of pupils to greater depth. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the raw attainment is clearly high. The Ofsted report noted Good behaviour and attitudes, which likely supports this academic focus. With only 8.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is less disadvantaged than many schools in the area, which may also be a factor.

Penketh Primary is a state-funded, mixed-gender school for children aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 75 applications for just 28 places, a ratio of 2.68 applicants per place, with 26 of 27 first-preference families offered a spot. The school sits at 98% of its 210-pupil capacity, so places are tight. Facilities include a forest school, sensory room, sports hall, ICT suite, art studios and a chapel. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language communication, and physical disability. Clubs include gardening, drama and chess, while sports on offer are football, rounders, gymnastics, cricket, dance and swimming. This is a school that suits families who prioritise strong academic outcomes in a supportive, well-equipped setting, and who are prepared to compete for a place.

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