St Margaret's CofE Primary School
Withington Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, M16 8FQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr David Hunter
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Manchester Rusholme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 720
- Pupils on roll
- 601
- URN
- 105493
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01612262271
About this school
St Margaret's CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 601 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 87 | 85 | 84 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 61% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 6% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 68% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 78% | 86% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 71% | 69% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
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 Margaret's CofE 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 | 61% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 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 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 643 |
| 2023/24 | 662 |
| 2024/25 | 642 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Margaret's CofE Primary School compares
St Margaret's CofE Primary School ranked 37th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 5.5% | 54.6% | 601 | — |
| Our Lady's RC Primary School Manchester | 52% | 5% | 45.7% | 185 | 0.4 miles |
| Manley Park Primary School | 73% | 4.7% | 22.3% | 442 | 0.4 miles |
| St Mary's CofE Junior and Infant School | 58% | 4.1% | 60.9% | 470 | 0.5 miles |
| Seymour Park Community Primary School | 80% | 5.2% | 31.4% | 682 | 0.8 miles |
| St Hilda's CofE Primary School | 73% | 5.3% | 30.1% | 191 | 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)
- 54.59%
- English as an additional language
- 79.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.48%
- Persistent absence
- 15.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady's RC Primary School Manchester0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Manley Park Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Mary's CofE Junior and Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Seymour Park Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Hilda's CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
St Margaret's CofE Primary School ranks 79th 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 St Margaret's CofE Primary School teach?
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Margaret's CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Margaret's CofE Primary School is Mr David Hunter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Margaret's CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Margaret's CofE 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 St Margaret's CofE Primary School?
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School has 601 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Margaret's CofE Primary School full?
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School has capacity for 720 pupils and 601 on roll (83%), 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 Margaret's CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Margaret's CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Margaret's CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Margaret's CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Margaret's CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 69% 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 Margaret's CofE Primary School rank locally?
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School ranked 37th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% 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 Margaret's CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Margaret's CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Margaret's CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Margaret's CofE 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.