Werneth Primary School

About Werneth Primary School

Werneth Primary School in Oldham has turned a corner. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 awarded it a Good rating across every category, including overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2019, when the school was rated Requires Improvement overall, with leadership and management also graded Requires Improvement and early years provision rated Requires Improvement. The school now serves 434 pupils aged 3 to 11, with a capacity of 450, and 36.1 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The most telling exam metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined: 63 per cent. That places Werneth 27th out of 67 primary schools in the Oldham local authority, putting it in the top 50 per cent of schools in the borough.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the school performs above the local authority average of 58 per cent for the combined expected standard in reading, writing and maths. In individual subjects, 85 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in maths, with an average scaled score of 106, and 26 per cent reached the higher standard. Reading saw 66 per cent at the expected level, with an average score of 103, and 19 per cent achieving the higher standard. Writing came in at 73 per cent at the expected level. Nationally, Werneth ranks 6,817th out of 13,686 primary schools, placing it almost exactly in the middle of the national distribution. In the North West region, it sits 981st out of 2,065 schools. The school does not have a sixth form, as is typical for a primary, and offers nursery provision for younger children.

The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, with 70 applications for 48 places and 35 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.46. Facilities include a music room, ICT suite, forest school, sports hall, dining hall, sensory room and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, dance and rounders, while clubs range from science and art to coding, chess and choir. The school has a broad SEND offer, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. For families who prioritise a school that has improved its Ofsted grade and offers strong SEND support, Werneth is a solid, mid-ranking option within Oldham. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Corpus Christi RC Primary School, 1.2 km away.

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