St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone
Oldham Road, Rochdale, OL11 2HB
This school is closed (it closed in January 2025).
It was replaced by St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone. That page has the school's current information.
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Brown
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Constituency
- Rochdale
- Setting
- (England/Wales) Urban major conurbation
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 208
- URN
- 105804
- Local authority
- Rochdale
About this school
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone was a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Rochdale. It taught children aged 5 to 11 and had 208 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in January 1900, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 33% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 47% | 59% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 53% | 52% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 62% | 67% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 99.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| 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 St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45% | 55.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 33% | 56.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 208 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone compares
Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 5.3% | 39.4% | 208 | — |
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone | — | — | — | 208 | 0.0 miles |
| Lowerplace Primary School | 41% | 6.5% | 38.8% | 533 | 0.3 miles |
| Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 222 | 0.5 miles |
| St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 53% | 4.8% | 45% | 455 | 0.5 miles |
| Sandbrook Community Primary School | 51% | 6.7% | 59.4% | 583 | 0.5 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)
- 39.42%
- English as an additional language
- 10.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.34%
- Persistent absence
- 16.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone0.0 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Lowerplace Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
St Peter's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Sandbrook Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Rochdale
Other schools in Rochdale
- Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ashfield Valley Primary School Primary
- Belfield Community School Primary
- Brimrod Community Primary School Primary
- Broadfield Community Primary School Primary
- Caldershaw Primary School Primary
- Castleton Primary School Primary
- Crossgates Primary School Primary
- Deeplish Primary Academy Primary
- Greenbank Primary School Primary
- Hamer Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone teach?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone taught children aged 5 to 11. It was a primary school in Rochdale.
- Has St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How big is St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone?
- St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone had 208 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- How have St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Balderstone'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 7 July 2025.