St Stephen's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

About St Stephen's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St Stephen's RC Primary School in Tameside is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for children aged 3 to 11, currently home to 408 pupils against a capacity of 450. That leaves a small buffer of 42 places, but the school is clearly in demand: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 53 applications for just 36 reception places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.47. All 36 first-preference applicants were offered a place, meaning the school is popular but not impossible to get into if you live nearby and put it first. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals sits at 26.3%, which is notably higher than the national primary average of around 23% and suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. This context matters for parents weighing up the school's academic results, as it shows the school is achieving its outcomes while supporting a significant number of children from less advantaged backgrounds.

Academically, St Stephen's has made a clear improvement in recent years. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2022 rated the school Good overall, with Good marks across all five graded categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a meaningful step up from its previous inspection in June 2018, when the school was judged to Require Improvement overall, with leadership and management also rated Requires Improvement. The turnaround in leadership under headteacher Connor Lavin appears to have been effective. On the key stage 2 national assessments, the school's average score sits at 62, which is exactly in line with the Tameside local authority average. That means pupils here are performing broadly as expected for the area, which is a solid result given the higher-than-average FSM rate.

The school offers a strong set of facilities for a primary, including a library, gymnasium, sensory room, music rooms, ICT suite, sports hall, chapel, and outdoor playgrounds and playing fields. Sports on offer include netball, dance, rounders, and swimming, while clubs range from chess and book club to eco club, drama, science club, and gardening. For children with additional needs, the school provides support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social and emotional mental health needs, hearing and visual impairments, and other difficulties. There is nursery provision for three-year-olds, but no sixth form. With oversubscription and a clear Catholic character, this school will particularly suit Catholic families in Tameside who want a primary with strong pastoral support, good facilities, and a track record of improvement under stable leadership.

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