St James CofE Primary School, Farnworth

About St James CofE Primary School, Farnworth

St James CofE Primary School, Farnworth, is a state primary in Bolton that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 55 applications for just 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. Of those, 29 were first-preference applications, and 29 first-preference offers were made, meaning every family who put it top of their list got a spot. That level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, though the school doesn't publish a parent-view survey percentage to back that up directly. The school is Church of England, takes children from age 2 through to 11, and currently has 359 pupils on roll, just shy of its 362 capacity. It's a mixed school with nursery provision, and nearly half of its pupils (48.8%) are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average and points to a genuinely inclusive intake.

Academically, the picture is mixed. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in October 2024, the school was judged Good overall, with Outstanding for early years provision. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management were all rated Good. However, the school's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show that only 45% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to the Bolton local authority average of 66%. That places St James 83rd out of 87 primary schools in the borough, in the bottom 50 nationally. Individual subject scores are a bit stronger: 68% hit the expected standard in writing, 64% in maths, and 61% in reading. Higher-attaining pupils are few, with just 9% achieving the higher standard across all three subjects. Progress scores aren't available, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds, but the raw attainment is clearly below the local norm.

On the ground, the school offers a decent range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, music rooms, a sensory room, playing fields, a dining hall and a chapel. Sports on offer include rounders, gymnastics, athletics and cricket, and there are clubs covering art, science, film, drama, book club and coding. The SEND provision is broad, covering moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This, combined with the high FSM percentage, suggests a school that is well set up to support a diverse range of needs. For families considering St James, it's worth noting that the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is St Peter's CofE Primary School, just 0.9 km away, which might be worth a look if academic results are a top priority. St James suits families who value a community-focused, inclusive Church of England school with strong early years provision and a wide support offer, and who are comfortable with results that sit below the local average.

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