Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School
Ladbrooke Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 8JS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathon Hobday
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Constituency
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 187
- URN
- 106229
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01613304049
About this school
Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Ashton-Under-Lyne. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 187 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 29 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 28% | 47% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 57% | 66% | 63% |
| Expected standard in maths | 47% | 38% | 53% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 47% | 45% | 57% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 98.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.40 | - | - |
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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England 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 | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40% | 56.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 28% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 47% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 196 |
| 2023/24 | 196 |
| 2024/25 | 195 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School compares
Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School ranked 53rd of 59 primary schools in Tameside for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47% | 5.5% | 59% | 187 | — |
| Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Primary School, Ashton-under-Lyne | 57% | 4% | 32.9% | 235 | 0.2 miles |
| St James' Church of England Primary School | 68% | 4.5% | 57% | 230 | 0.3 miles |
| The Heys Primary School | 61% | 4.5% | 49.3% | 226 | 0.3 miles |
| Oasis Academy Broadoak | 65% | 6.2% | 68% | 420 | 0.4 miles |
| Parochial CofE Primary and Nursery School, Ashton-under-Lyne | 63% | 4.7% | 43.2% | 212 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 58.97%
- English as an additional language
- 22.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.51%
- Persistent absence
- 16.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Primary School, Ashton-under-Lyne0.2 miles
Primary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
St James' Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
The Heys Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
Oasis Academy Broadoak0.4 miles
Primary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
Parochial CofE Primary and Nursery School, Ashton-under-Lyne0.5 miles
Primary · Ashton-under-Lyne
Other schools in Ashton-Under-Lyne
Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School ranks 18th of the 19 ranked primary schools in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
- Ashton West End Primary Academy Primary
- Canon Burrows CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Johnson CofE Primary School Primary
- Holden Clough Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Primary
- Livingstone Primary School Primary
- Micklehurst All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Milton St John's CofE Primary School Primary
- Oasis Academy Broadoak Primary
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Primary School, Ashton-under-Lyne Primary
- Parochial CofE Primary and Nursery School, Ashton-under-Lyne Primary
- Rosehill Methodist Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School teach?
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
- Who is the headteacher of Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is Mr Jonathon Hobday, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England 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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School?
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School has 187 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School full?
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 187 on roll (89%), 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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2022/23 and 47% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Tameside?
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School ranked 53rd of 59 primary schools in Tameside for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England 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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England 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 15 July 2026.