St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

About St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School sits within the Leeds local authority, a large and competitive primary landscape of 221 schools. Among these, it ranks 93rd, placing it comfortably in the top half of the city's primaries. The school's closest high-performing peers include Harewood Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School and Shadwell Primary School, both scoring 90 on the local ranking metric, with Horsforth Featherbank Primary School close behind at 87. St Margaret's itself achieves a ranking score of 65, reflecting solid, consistent performance. The school is a state-funded, mixed primary for children aged 4 to 11, with a Church of England character and headteacher Rebecca Maiden at the helm. It is notably oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, 212 families applied for just 46 places, with 41 of those offers going to first-preference applicants. That level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, even if the school does not hold the Outstanding Ofsted rating that its nearest neighbour, St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Horsforth, enjoys just 0.3 kilometres away.

Academically, St Margaret's delivers results that sit above the Leeds local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 65 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Leeds average of 61 per cent. The school's average scaled scores were 108 in reading and 107 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. At the higher standard, 10 per cent of pupils achieved the top tier across all three subjects, with 37 per cent hitting that level in reading and 33 per cent in maths. Writing at the higher standard was lower, at 15 per cent. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in November 2022, the school was rated Good across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a change from its previous inspection in 2009, when it was judged Outstanding overall. The current Good rating is a fair reflection of the school's solid, if not exceptional, academic outcomes.

The school site includes a library, playing fields, a sensory room, a Forest School area, an outdoor playground and a chapel. Sports provision is broad, with football, cross country, dance, rounders, athletics, netball and tennis on offer, while clubs include coding, drama and choir. St Margaret's has a well-developed SEND offer, with provisions listed for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is oversubscribed by a ratio of 4.61 applicants per place, so families considering it will need to apply early and list it as a strong first preference. It suits families who value a Church of England primary with strong core academic results, a wide range of extracurricular activities and a clear commitment to inclusive support, all within a popular and competitive Leeds catchment.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents