St Margaret's Church of England Primary School

About St Margaret's Church of England Primary School

St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School in Bury is a state primary for mixed pupils aged 4 to 11, and it’s a school that local families clearly want to get into. With 223 pupils on roll against a capacity of 247, it’s not quite full, but the demand is strong: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 39 applications for just 16 places, an oversubscription ratio of 2.44 to one. All 14 first-preference applicants were offered a place, meaning the crunch comes for those who don’t put it top of their list. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 8.5%, well below the national average for primary schools, which tends to hover around 23-24%. That suggests a relatively affluent intake, and the school’s Church of England character may also shape the local demographic it draws from. It’s a popular choice in Bury, ranking 17th out of 46 primary schools in the local authority on the key stage 2 expected standard measure.

Academically, St Margaret’s delivers solid results. In the 2023/24 key stage 2 assessments, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is five percentage points above the Bury local authority average of 64%. The school’s ranking score of 69 places it in the top 50% nationally, and within the North West it sits at the 676th spot out of 2,065 primaries. Individual subject scores are strong: 89% met the expected standard in maths, with an average scaled score of 107, and 83% did the same in reading, also averaging 107. Writing is a relative weak point, with 74% at expected and only 9% working at greater depth. At the higher standard across all three subjects, just 3% of pupils achieved that level, which is low compared to some local peers. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in October 2024, confirmed that standards are being maintained, and it has held a Good rating since its last graded inspection in 2014.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for a primary of its size, including a library, ICT suite, forest school area, sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields and even a chapel. There are clubs in science, film, drama, eco and coding, plus sports such as football, netball, tennis, rounders, cross country and cricket. For children with additional needs, the school lists provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the Parent View survey, based on 41 responses, shows some mixed feelings: while 78% would recommend the school, only 12% strongly agreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and a notable 22% said they would not recommend it. The school is oversubscribed but not impossibly so, and it suits families who value a Church of England ethos, strong core academic results, and a broad range of activities within a relatively small, community-focused setting.

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