St Mary's CofE Junior and Infant School

About St Mary's CofE Junior and Infant School

St Mary's CofE Junior and Infant School is a state primary in Manchester, sitting 8th out of 122 schools in the local authority rankings, placing it comfortably in the top 10% of its peers. The top three schools in the area are Didsbury CofE Primary School, Brookburn Community School, and Rack House Primary School, all of which score higher on the same ranking metric. St Mary's is one of only 15 primary schools in Manchester rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and its nearest Outstanding neighbour is Manley Park Primary School, 1.1 km away. The school is Church of England and serves 451 pupils from ages 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. It is notably oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, 47 first-preference applications were made for 47 places, but a total of 108 applications were received, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.3. This level of demand suggests strong local reputation, though the school's capacity of 472 means it is running close to full.

Academically, St Mary's delivers results well above the Manchester average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 tests, 77% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of just 57%. The school's ranking score of 77 is based on this metric, placing it in the top 25% nationally and 281st out of 2,065 primaries in the North West. In individual subjects, 86% met the expected standard in maths, 82% in reading, and 80% in writing. At the higher standard, 30% achieved that level in maths, 23% in reading, and 14% in writing. Average scaled scores were 106 in maths and 105 in reading. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2024 awarded Outstanding across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Its previous inspection in 2009 also rated it Outstanding overall.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including an ICT suite, sensory room, gymnasium, sports hall, chapel, and outdoor playground. Sports provision covers tennis, dance, rounders, cross country, athletics, and gymnastics, while clubs include eco club, science club, chess, book club, and choir. SEND provisions are well-documented, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and other difficulties. With 60.1% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment but still achieves strong outcomes. St Mary's suits families who value a church school with a proven track record of high standards, a strong SEND offer, and a wide range of enrichment activities, though securing a place requires a first-preference application given the oversubscription.

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