Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

About Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a small, mixed primary in Lancaster with 95 pupils against a capacity of 105, meaning it is not quite full but clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 reception intake, the school received 42 applications for just 15 places, with 18 of those as first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.8. That level of competition is notable for a village school of this size. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 11.6 per cent, which is below the national average for primary schools, suggesting a relatively affluent intake. The school is Church of England in character, though it is a voluntary controlled school, meaning the local authority retains significant influence over admissions and governance. Headteacher Fiona Richardson leads a setting that feels deliberately intimate, and the gap between pupil numbers and capacity suggests the school could grow but has not yet needed to.

Academically, Quernmore performs well above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 67 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Lancashire average of 60 per cent. Reading and maths scores were particularly strong, with average scaled scores of 107 and 106 respectively, and 93 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading. At the higher standard, 20 per cent achieved that level in reading and 13 per cent in maths, though no pupils reached it in writing. The school ranks 16th out of 46 primary schools in the Lancaster local authority area, placing it in the top 35 per cent locally and the top 38 per cent nationally. Ofsted rated the school Good overall in its most recent graded inspection in 2019, and a subsequent ungraded inspection in July 2024 confirmed it remains Good. Leadership, management and early years provision were all rated Good.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including a library, sports hall, playing fields, music rooms and a chapel, plus clubs such as film, science, choir, drama and book club. Sports provision covers tennis, gymnastics, dance and netball. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists support for a wide spectrum of conditions, including dyslexia, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. Admission is via the Lancashire County Council coordinated scheme, and with 2.8 applicants per place, families living closest to the school or with a church connection will have a stronger chance. Quernmore suits parents who want a small, Church of England primary with strong academic results and a broad extracurricular offer, set in a semi-rural location near Lancaster. It is not a nursery or boarding school, and there is no sixth form.

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