Waterloo Primary Academy

About Waterloo Primary Academy

Waterloo Primary Academy sits in the Blackpool local authority, where it ranks 12th out of 23 primary schools on the key stage 2 expected standard measure. That puts it just inside the top half of its local peers, though it is some way behind the three highest-scoring schools in the area: Kincraig Primary School, Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School, and Westcliff Primary Academy. The school is a large, mixed, state-funded primary for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site and a current roll of 610 pupils against a capacity of 656. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2023, rated the school as Requires Improvement overall, a downgrade from its previous Good rating in 2014. The inspection found that quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement, though early years provision, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes were all judged Good.

Academically, the school’s key stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 56%, slightly below the Blackpool local authority average of 58%. In individual subjects, reading performed strongest, with 78% reaching the expected standard and 28% reaching the higher standard, while maths saw 73% at expected and 10% at the higher level. Writing was weaker, with 63% at expected and no pupils reaching the higher standard. The school’s average scaled scores were 106 in reading and 102 in maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom half, sitting at the 66th percentile among all primary schools. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including an ICT suite, library, music rooms, gymnasium, playing fields, and a chapel. Sports provision covers tennis, cricket, cross country, rounders, netball, athletics, and gymnastics, while extracurricular clubs include science club, coding, and choir. The school has a substantial SEND offer, with provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed, receiving 96 total applications for 65 places, with 56 first-preference offers made. This suggests strong local demand despite the Requires Improvement rating. Families considering Waterloo should weigh its large size, nursery provision, and wide SEND support against the recent Ofsted outcome and below-average combined attainment.

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