St Mark's CofE Primary School

About St Mark's CofE Primary School

St Mark's CofE Primary School is a popular choice among Salford families, with 126 applications for 60 places in the 2025/26 admissions round — an oversubscription ratio of 2.1. Of those 126 applicants, 62 put the school as their first preference, and 54 first-preference offers were made. The school doesn't publish a parent-view recommendation score, but the high demand speaks for itself. It's a Church of England state primary for mixed genders aged 3 to 11, with nursery provision on site. Headteacher Louise Mansfield leads a school of 437 pupils, just shy of its 460 capacity. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 7.7%, well below the national average, suggesting a relatively affluent intake. In its most recent ungraded Ofsted inspection in April 2024, the school was judged to have 'remained Good' — a rating it has held consistently since at least its previous graded inspection in 2019.

Academically, St Mark's performs strongly. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 81% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — well above the Salford local authority average of 61%. This places the school 5th out of 65 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the top 10% locally and in the top 25% nationally. Subject-level results are solid: 92% met the expected standard in writing, 88% in maths, and 86% in reading. At the higher standard, 58% achieved that level in maths, 44% in reading, and 19% in writing. Average scaled scores were 109 in maths and 108 in reading. Progress scores aren't published in the data, but the attainment figures alone make this one of Salford's strongest primaries, behind only Broadoak, St Mary's RC and St Thomas of Canterbury RC in the local rankings.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a library, ICT suite, music rooms, chapel, gymnasium, outdoor playground and a Forest School. Sports on offer include cricket, cross country, dance and athletics, while clubs range from book club and drama to gardening and choir. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. With oversubscription at 2.1 to 1, families applying will need to ensure they meet the admission criteria — likely faith-based or catchment priorities given the Church of England character. This school suits families who value strong academic outcomes within a religious framework, and who want a well-resourced primary with good SEND support and a wide range of extracurricular activities.

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