Woodlands Primary School
Hollybank Road, Birkenhead, CH41 2SY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Crosthwaite
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Birkenhead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 336
- Pupils on roll
- 314
- URN
- 104990
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01516478406
About this school
Woodlands Primary School is a community primary school in Birkenhead. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 314 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Woodlands Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 May 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 35 | 38 | 47 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 45% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 58% | 66% |
| Expected standard in maths | 57% | 58% | 74% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 49% | 55% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Woodlands Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wirral average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 52% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 45% | 50.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 53.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 325 |
| 2023/24 | 351 |
| 2024/25 | 341 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Woodlands Primary School compares
Woodlands Primary School ranked 43rd of 75 primary schools in Wirral for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 7.8% | 57.9% | 314 | — |
| St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School | 44% | 8.8% | 50.8% | 210 | 0.1 miles |
| Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School | 56% | 7% | 59.6% | 203 | 0.3 miles |
| Mersey Park Primary School | 83% | 6.3% | 65% | 452 | 0.6 miles |
| Woodchurch Road Academy | 67% | 8.3% | 58.3% | 171 | 0.6 miles |
| Cathcart Street Primary School | 26% | 7.7% | 78.1% | 213 | 0.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 57.91%
- English as an additional language
- 58.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.76%
- Persistent absence
- 23.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Mersey Park Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Wirral
-
Woodchurch Road Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Birkenhead
-
Cathcart Street Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Wirral
Other schools in Birkenhead
Woodlands Primary School ranks 5th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Birkenhead.
- Bedford Drive Primary School Primary
- Bidston Avenue Primary School Primary
- Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Co-op Academy Portland Primary
- Devonshire Park Primary School Primary
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Primary
- Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Rock Ferry Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Priory Parish CofE Primary School Primary
- Well Lane Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Woodlands Primary School teach?
- Woodlands Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Birkenhead.
- Who is the headteacher of Woodlands Primary School?
- The headteacher of Woodlands Primary School is Mrs Gemma Crosthwaite, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Woodlands Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Woodlands Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Woodlands Primary School?
- Woodlands Primary School has 314 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Woodlands Primary School full?
- Woodlands Primary School has capacity for 336 pupils and 314 on roll (93%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Woodlands Primary School a faith school?
- No. Woodlands Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Woodlands Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Woodlands Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Woodlands Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Woodlands Primary School compare with other schools in Wirral?
- Woodlands Primary School ranked 43rd of 75 primary schools in Wirral for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Woodlands Primary School's absence rate?
- Woodlands Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Woodlands Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Woodlands Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.