St Augustine's CofE Primary School

About St Augustine's CofE Primary School

St Augustine's CofE Primary School is a Church of England state primary in the Manchester local authority, and it ranks 21st out of 122 primary schools in the area, placing it comfortably in the top 20% of its peers. Its ranking score of 70 puts it behind the top three local schools — Didsbury CofE Primary School, Brookburn Community School, and Rack House Primary School — but still marks it as a strong performer within the borough. The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 28 applications for just 12 places and 10 of those coming as first preferences, which gives a sense of its local reputation. It serves a notably diverse intake: 62.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, and the school has a nursery provision for children from age three. Headteacher Razia Shah leads a relatively small school of 205 pupils against a capacity of 240, so there is some room for growth.

Academically, St Augustine's performs well above the Manchester average at Key Stage 2. In the 2023/24 results, 70% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 57%. Reading and maths average scores both sit at 106, and the proportion reaching the higher standard in reading and maths is 21% in each subject, though writing at the higher level drops to 9%. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in March 2025, confirmed that standards are maintained, and it retains its Good rating across all graded areas including leadership, early years provision and overall effectiveness. Its previous graded inspection in 2015 also rated it Good, and the 2011 inspection gave the same overall grade, so the school has a consistent track record. The early years provision has been rated Good in both the 2011 and 2025 inspections.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, a forest school area, a sensory room and a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, netball, tennis, rounders, athletics, swimming and dance, while clubs extend to drama, coding, eco club, book club and film club. For children with additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability and social, emotional and mental health support. Parent View responses, based on 13 respondents in the period to September 2025, show 69% would recommend the school, though there are some notable splits: 15% strongly disagreed that their child is happy, and 23% disagreed that the school makes sure pupils are well behaved. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Abbott Community Primary School, 1.4 km away. This is a school that suits families who value a Church of England ethos, a strong academic record relative to the local area, and a broad range of extracurricular opportunities in a diverse, inner-city setting.

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