Bowker Vale Primary School
Middleton Road, Higher Crumpsall, Manchester, M8 4NB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Jacques
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Blackley and Middleton South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 465
- Pupils on roll
- 439
- URN
- 105397
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617405993
About this school
Bowker Vale Primary School is a community primary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 439 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 10 February 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 | 58 | 60 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 47% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 53% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 64% | 75% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 65% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Bowker Vale 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 | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 455 |
| 2023/24 | 456 |
| 2024/25 | 455 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bowker Vale Primary School compares
Bowker Vale Primary School ranked 58th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 6.4% | 48.5% | 439 | — |
| Crab Lane Primary School | 56% | 5.4% | 61.6% | 412 | 0.5 miles |
| St Clare's RC Primary School | 55% | 5.3% | 46.1% | 442 | 0.9 miles |
| Crumpsall Lane Primary School | 60% | 5.4% | 46% | 418 | 1.0 miles |
| St Hilda's Church of England Primary School | 50% | 3.8% | 21.3% | 184 | 1.0 miles |
| Pike Fold Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 43.3% | 435 | 1.0 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)
- 48.45%
- English as an additional language
- 55.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.43%
- Persistent absence
- 17.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Crab Lane Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Clare's RC Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Crumpsall Lane Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Hilda's Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Pike Fold Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
Bowker Vale Primary School ranks 137th of the 252 ranked primary schools in Manchester.
- Abbey Hey Primary Academy Primary
- Abbott Community Primary School Primary
- Acacias Community Primary School Primary
- Acre Hall Primary School Primary
- Aldwyn Primary School Primary
- Alkrington Primary School Primary
- All Saints C of E Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand Primary
- All Saints Primary School Primary
- Alma Park Primary School Primary
- Armitage CofE Primary School Primary
- Ashbury Meadow Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bowker Vale Primary School teach?
- Bowker Vale Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Bowker Vale Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bowker Vale Primary School is Mrs Rachel Jacques, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bowker Vale Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bowker Vale 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 big is Bowker Vale Primary School?
- Bowker Vale Primary School has 439 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Bowker Vale Primary School full?
- Bowker Vale Primary School has capacity for 465 pupils and 439 on roll (94%), 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 Bowker Vale Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bowker Vale Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bowker Vale Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Bowker Vale Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Bowker Vale Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Bowker Vale Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bowker Vale Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bowker Vale Primary School rank locally?
- Bowker Vale Primary School ranked 58th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bowker Vale Primary School's absence rate?
- Bowker Vale Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bowker Vale Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bowker Vale 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.