St James' CofE Junior School

About St James' CofE Junior School

St James' CofE Junior School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across its two most recent inspections. The most telling academic metric for this junior school is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which stands at 63 per cent. That figure sits above the Westmorland and Furness local authority average of 58 per cent, placing the school in the top half nationally. Digging into the individual subjects, writing is the strongest area, with 80 per cent of pupils meeting expectations and 20 per cent reaching the higher standard. Maths follows closely at 75 per cent expected, while reading sits at 71 per cent. The average scaled scores are 104 for maths and 103 for reading, both a shade above the national benchmark of 100. The school ranks 43rd out of 99 primary schools in the local authority, which puts it in the middle of the pack locally, and 986th out of 2,065 in the North West region.

The most recent graded inspection took place in March 2012, when Ofsted judged leadership and management to be Outstanding and overall effectiveness Good. An ungraded inspection in October 2022 confirmed the school remains Good, with leadership and management also rated Good on that visit. The school is a Church of England primary for pupils aged 7 to 11, with 121 pupils on roll against a capacity of 240, meaning there is significant room for growth. Nearly half of the pupils — 49.6 per cent — are eligible for free school meals, a figure well above the national average, reflecting the school's role in a community with higher-than-average disadvantage. The headteacher is Jacqueline Rushton. There is no nursery or sixth form provision.

Facilities include a library, sports hall, dining hall, sensory room and chapel, and the school offers a broad range of sports such as tennis, gymnastics, dance, athletics, swimming, cricket and football. Clubs include gardening, drama and book club. The school has specialist SEND provision for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs. For families considering alternatives, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Victoria Academy, 1.3 kilometres away. St James' is a solid, mid-ranking option within the local authority, particularly strong on writing outcomes, and would suit families who value a Church of England setting and a school that performs above the LA average on the key combined measure despite serving a high-needs intake.

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