St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

About St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

St Nicholas Church of England Primary School in Hyndburn was rated Good in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. The school’s most telling academic metric is its Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard attainment: 53% of pupils reached this benchmark in the 2023/24 results. That figure sits below the Lancashire local authority average of 60%, placing the school 17th out of 31 primary schools in Hyndburn and in the bottom half nationally. However, the picture is more nuanced when you look at individual subjects. In writing, 80% of pupils met the expected standard, and in maths 70% did, while reading stood at 67%. At the higher standard, just 3% achieved the combined measure, though 10% reached higher in each of maths, reading and writing individually. The school’s average scaled scores were 103 in reading and 102 in maths, both close to the national benchmark of 100.

The school’s Ofsted report from January 2022 confirmed it remains Good, with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all rated Good. The previous graded inspection in February 2017 had already lifted the school from Requires Improvement to Good, and the ungraded inspection in 2022 found no reason to change that judgement. With 191 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, the school is not full, but it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 51 applications for 26 places, with 22 first-preference offers made. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 35.6%, well above the national average, reflecting the school’s role in a community with higher-than-average disadvantage. The school does not have a nursery or sixth form, and caters for mixed-gender pupils aged 5 to 11.

St Nicholas is a Church of England primary with a chapel on site, and its facilities include an ICT suite, art studios, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, netball, cricket, rounders and swimming, while clubs range from coding and chess to gardening, science club and choir. The school’s SEND provisions are broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. This makes it a potentially strong fit for families seeking a mainstream primary with a clear track record of improvement and a supportive environment for children with additional needs, particularly given the headteacher Liam Noon’s leadership since the Good rating was secured.

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