St Agnes CofE Primary School

About St Agnes CofE Primary School

St Agnes CofE Primary School is a Church of England state primary in Oldham, and it sits comfortably inside the top quarter of the 86 primary schools in the local authority, ranked 14th overall. That puts it ahead of many of its peers, though the very top spots in the area are held by Christ Church CofE Primary School, St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School, and St Anne's CofE Lydgate Primary School, all of which score higher on the same ranking metric. The school is small, with 109 pupils against a capacity of 105, and it serves a community where just over half of children are eligible for free school meals, a figure that stands at 51.4%. Headteacher Sarah Butterworth leads a school that has held a Good rating from Ofsted across its two most recent graded inspections, the latest of which was in 2015, with an ungraded inspection in January 2025 confirming that standards have been maintained.

Academically, St Agnes performs well above the Oldham average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 58%. The school's ranking score of 69 places it in the top 50 nationally for this metric, and within the North West it sits in the 32nd percentile. Results in individual subjects are strong too: 88% of pupils met the expected standard in maths, with 38% reaching the higher standard, while in reading 81% hit the expected level and 44% achieved the higher mark. Average scaled scores were 109 in maths and 110 in reading, both above the national benchmark of 100. Writing was more mixed, with 69% at expected but no pupils reaching the higher standard. Progress scores are not available for this cohort, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to starting points.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. In the most recent Parent View survey, 100% of the 16 respondents said they would recommend it, and every single one agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, feels safe, and does well. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a forest school, music rooms, an ICT suite, art studios, a sports hall, a gymnasium and a chapel. Clubs cover drama, book club, gardening, coding and science club, while sports include athletics, football, tennis and rounders. The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 there were 39 applications for 14 places, with 25 first-preference applications and 14 offers made. SEND provision is listed for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder, though no parents of SEND children responded to the survey, so there is no parent feedback on that aspect. This is a small, popular village-style primary that suits families who value a strong Church of England ethos, high academic expectations, and a close-knit community feel.

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