St Willibrord's RC Primary School

About St Willibrord's RC Primary School

St Willibrord's RC Primary School sits within the Manchester local authority, a large urban area with 137 primary schools of its own type. The school currently ranks 67th out of 122 primaries in the borough on the key stage 2 reading, writing and maths expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half of the local league table. For context, the highest-performing nearby peers include Didsbury CofE Primary School, Brookburn Community School and Rack House Primary School, all of which score notably higher on the same metric. St Willibrord's is a Roman Catholic state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. It has a capacity of 256 and currently enrols 246 children. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 52%, which is well above the national average and reflects the school's inner-city catchment. The headteacher is Carl McIver.

In its most recent graded inspection, carried out in 2012, Ofsted rated the school Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. An ungraded inspection in November 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. At key stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 55% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, slightly below the Manchester local authority average of 57%. Looking at individual subjects, 74% reached the expected standard in reading, 58% in writing and 71% in maths. At the higher standard, 23% achieved that level in reading, 16% in maths, and none in writing. Average scaled scores were 105 for reading and 103 for maths. The school does not have a sixth form. Nationally, St Willibrord's ranks in the bottom half of all primaries on the same combined measure, sitting at the 68th percentile across England.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a Forest School area, art studios, music rooms, a sensory room, an ICT suite, a library, a gymnasium, a chapel and playing fields. Sports on offer include gymnastics, athletics, football, rounders and netball, while clubs cover coding, choir, gardening and drama. The school has a resourced provision and supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and visual impairment. For the 2025/26 reception intake, the school was oversubscribed: 30 places attracted 75 total applications, with 34 first-preference applications and 30 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.5. This is a faith school that will particularly suit Catholic families in central Manchester who value a strong SEND support framework and a wide range of enrichment activities, though the academic outcomes are slightly below the local average. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Ravensbury Community School, 0.9 km away.

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