St Mary's CofE Primary School, Deane

About St Mary's CofE Primary School, Deane

St Mary's CofE Primary School in Deane is a large state primary running almost at full capacity with 486 pupils against a school capacity of 500. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 40.6%, which is notably higher than the national average and suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of economic disadvantage. Demand for places is strong: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 67 applications for 48 places, with 39 first-preference offers made. That oversubscription ratio of 1.4 indicates a school that local families actively seek out, despite the high FSM context. The school is Church of England in character, takes children from age 2 through to 11, and includes nursery provision. Samantha Walker is the headteacher.

Academically, St Mary's holds an Outstanding rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its graded inspection in 2017 and its most recent ungraded inspection in 2024, where it was judged to have remained Outstanding. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — three percentage points above the Bolton local authority average of 66%. The school's average scores in reading (106) and maths (107) are both above the national benchmark of 100. A higher-than-average proportion of pupils achieved the higher standard in maths (40%) and reading (32%), though writing at the higher level was lower at 18%. Nationally, the school ranks in the 33rd percentile for combined expected standards, and within Bolton it sits 36th out of 87 primary schools.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a sports hall, library, chapel, music rooms and playing fields, with sports such as netball, football, cricket and gymnastics on offer. Clubs include Book Club, Chess, Science Club and Eco Club. Its SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, visual impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a practical choice for families whose children need additional support within a mainstream setting. With oversubscription at 1.4, parents should be prepared to apply early and list it as a first preference. The nearest other Outstanding-rated primary is Beaumont Primary School, 0.9 km away.

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