St Giles' and St George's Church of England Academy

About St Giles' and St George's Church of England Academy

St Giles' and St George's Church of England Academy sits in the bottom half of primary schools in Staffordshire when it comes to the key headline measure of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2. Its score of 48 on this metric places it 185th out of 308 schools in the local authority, well below the LA average of 65. That gap is significant — roughly 17 percentage points — and suggests that, on this particular benchmark, the school is performing notably weaker than its peers across the county. In the Newcastle-under-Lyme area specifically, it ranks 32nd out of 35 primaries, putting it in the bottom 10% locally. For parents comparing options, this is the clearest signal that academic attainment at the expected level is not the school's strength, and it's worth digging deeper into the breakdown to understand where the challenges lie.

Looking at the individual subject results for the 2023/24 academic year, the picture is mixed. In writing, 80% of pupils met the expected standard — a solid figure that outpaces reading (61%) and maths (63%) by some margin. However, the proportion reaching the higher standard across all three subjects is just 11%, which is low. Reading and maths average scaled scores both sit at 103, exactly in line with the national average of 100, so the school isn't failing on raw scores — it's the combination of all three subjects that drags the headline figure down. Ofsted's most recent graded inspection in March 2023 rated the school Good overall, with personal development judged Outstanding. The previous inspection in 2017 also gave a Good rating, so there's consistency in leadership and behaviour, both rated Good. The early years provision has held at Good across both inspections.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 84 applications for 49 places and 50 first-preference applications, so demand is healthy despite the middling results. It offers a Forest School, a sensory room and a chapel, plus clubs like gardening and film club. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language, and physical disability. With 29.9% of pupils eligible for free school meals — above the national average — the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. For families who value a Church of England ethos, strong personal development and a broad range of activities over headline academic scores, this could be a good fit. The nursery provision for ages 2-4 is also a practical plus for working parents.

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