Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School
Park Road, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 2BJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Miss Alison Embleton
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (ce)
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 70
- URN
- 107554
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422832454
About this school
Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Sowerby Bridge. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 70 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 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 | 28 | 26 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 69% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 85% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 81% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 58% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.20 | - | - |
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 Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) 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 | Calderdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 60.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 105 |
| 2023/24 | 93 |
| 2024/25 | 84 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School compares
Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School ranked 30th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% 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 | 68% | 5.6% | 41.7% | 70 | — |
| Bolton Brow Primary Academy | 67% | 3.9% | 18.1% | 227 | 0.2 miles |
| Warley Town School | 65% | 4.8% | 9.9% | 129 | 0.6 miles |
| Warley Road Primary Academy | 70% | 6.7% | 32.7% | 518 | 0.6 miles |
| New Road Primary School | 47% | 5.5% | 37.9% | 182 | 0.7 miles |
| Norland CE School | 80% | 3.6% | 17.5% | 61 | 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)
- 41.67%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.59%
- Persistent absence
- 17.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bolton Brow Primary Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Warley Town School0.6 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Warley Road Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
New Road Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
-
Norland CE School0.9 miles
Primary · Sowerby Bridge
Other schools in Sowerby Bridge
Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School ranks 5th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Sowerby Bridge.
- Bolton Brow Primary Academy Primary
- New Road Primary School Primary
- Norland CE School Primary
- Ripponden Junior and Infant School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- St John's Primary School In Rishworth Primary
- St Mary's CofE (VC) J and I School Primary
- Triangle CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Trinity Academy St Peter's Primary
- Ryburn Valley High School Secondary
- Trinity Academy Grammar Secondary
- Rishworth School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School teach?
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Sowerby Bridge.
- Who is the headteacher of Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School?
- The headteacher of Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School is Miss Alison Embleton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) 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 Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School?
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School has 70 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School full?
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 70 on roll (33%), 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 Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Leeds (ce).
- Does Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School rank locally?
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School ranked 30th of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% 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 Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School's absence rate?
- Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Christ Church Sowerby Bridge CofE (VA) 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.