Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School

About Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School

Walsden St Peter's CE (VC) Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its most recent inspections. The most telling academic metric for this Calderdale primary is its Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard score. In the 2023/24 academic year, 65% of pupils reached this benchmark, which sits above the local authority average of 59%. That places the school 29th out of 73 primary schools in Calderdale, putting it comfortably in the top half of the borough. Digging deeper into the individual subjects, reading and maths both saw 77% of pupils hit the expected standard, while writing followed closely at 73%. The school also performed well at the higher standard, with 35% of pupils achieving greater depth in reading and 23% in maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the 45th percentile, a solid middle-ground performance that reflects consistent, if not spectacular, outcomes across the core subjects.

Ofsted's 2023 ungraded inspection confirmed the school 'remains Good', with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all rated Good. The previous graded inspection in 2018 also awarded Good across the board. The school's Progress 8 scores are not available in the data, but the average scaled scores tell a clear story: reading at 107 and maths at 105, both above the national average of 100. This suggests pupils typically arrive with solid foundations and leave having made at least expected progress. The school's ranking within Calderdale, while not in the top tier, is respectable, and it outperforms the LA average on the key combined measure. For parents focused on academic outcomes, Walsden St Peter's offers a reliable, above-average performance within its local authority, with particular strength in reading.

The school is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, with a current roll of 174 pupils against a capacity of 175. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 27 applications for 20 places, with all 20 first-preference applicants receiving offers. Facilities include a sensory room, art studios, a dining hall, an outdoor playground, and a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, rounders, athletics, swimming, and cricket, while after-school clubs range from coding and science club to choir, film club, book club, and art club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, and physical disability. With 13.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a broadly representative community. This is a good fit for families seeking a church-affiliated primary with strong core subject results and a clear sense of community, particularly those living within the Walsden catchment area.

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