St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever
Norris Street, Little Lever, Bolton, BL3 1BQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr John Shawcross
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 196
- URN
- 105242
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333692
About this school
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 196 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever, 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 2 March 2023, 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 | 31 | 33 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 48% | 42% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 79% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 67% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 82% | 48% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.30 | - | - |
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 St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bolton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 42% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 213 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 195 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever compares
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever ranked 86th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42% | 4.2% | 18% | 196 | — |
| St Teresa's RC Primary School a Voluntary Academy | — | 5.1% | 24.6% | 126 | 0.1 miles |
| Mytham Primary School | 56% | 4.3% | 21.3% | 323 | 0.3 miles |
| Bowness Primary School | 86% | 8.6% | 42% | 129 | 0.3 miles |
| Masefield Primary School | 84% | 4.8% | 23.8% | 254 | 0.5 miles |
| Blackshaw Primary School | 69% | 4.2% | 18.9% | 218 | 0.9 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)
- 17.95%
- English as an additional language
- 2.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.17%
- Persistent absence
- 8.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Teresa's RC Primary School a Voluntary Academy0.1 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Mytham Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Bowness Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Masefield Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Blackshaw Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever ranks 85th of the 88 ranked primary schools in Bolton.
- All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Beacon Primary School Primary
- Beaumont Primary School Primary
- Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School Primary
- Blackrod Anglican/Methodist Primary School Primary
- Blackrod Primary School Primary
- Blackshaw Primary School Primary
- Bolton Parish Church, Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bowness Primary School Primary
- Brandwood Primary School Primary
- Brownlow Fold Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever teach?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever?
- The headteacher of St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever is Mr John Shawcross, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever, 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 St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever has 196 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever full?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever has capacity for 210 pupils and 196 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 St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever a faith school?
- Yes. St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 42% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever compare with other schools in Bolton?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever ranked 86th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever's absence rate?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Little Lever'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.