Whaley Bridge Primary School
Buxton Road, Whaley Bridge, High Peak, SK23 7HX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Seren Hathway
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- High Peak
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 262
- Pupils on roll
- 142
- URN
- 112647
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01663732354
About this school
Whaley Bridge Primary School is a community primary school in High Peak. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 142 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Whaley Bridge 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 32 | 21 | 16 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 43% | 31% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 76% | 63% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 76% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 86% | 56% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
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 Whaley Bridge 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 | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 58.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 31% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 129 |
| 2023/24 | 121 |
| 2024/25 | 137 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whaley Bridge Primary School compares
Whaley Bridge Primary School ranked 232nd of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 31% | 4.4% | 22.6% | 142 | — |
| Taxal and Fernilee CofE Primary School | 79% | 4.1% | 14.3% | 192 | 0.3 miles |
| Buxworth Primary School | 0% | 5.7% | 27.2% | 104 | 1.0 miles |
| Furness Vale Primary and Nursery School | 71% | 3.6% | 33.3% | 72 | 1.5 miles |
| Kettleshulme St James CofE (VA) Primary School | 44% | 6.7% | 19.7% | 66 | 1.7 miles |
| Newtown Primary School (High Peak Federation) | 60% | 5.4% | 28.6% | 77 | 2.4 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)
- 22.63%
- English as an additional language
- 3.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.41%
- Persistent absence
- 6.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Taxal and Fernilee CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
Buxworth Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
Furness Vale Primary and Nursery School1.5 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
Kettleshulme St James CofE (VA) Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Kettleshulme. High Peak
-
Newtown Primary School (High Peak Federation)2.4 miles
Primary · New Mills
Other schools in High Peak
Whaley Bridge Primary School ranks 10th of the 11 ranked primary schools in High Peak.
- Buxworth Primary School Primary
- Chapel-en-le-Frith CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Furness Vale Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Hague Bar Primary School Primary
- Hayfield Primary School Primary
- New Mills Primary School Primary
- St George's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- Taxal and Fernilee CofE Primary School Primary
- Thornsett Primary School (High Peak Federation) Primary
- New Mills Nursery School Nursery
- Chapel-en-le-Frith High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Whaley Bridge Primary School teach?
- Whaley Bridge Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in High Peak.
- Who is the headteacher of Whaley Bridge Primary School?
- The headteacher of Whaley Bridge Primary School is Ms Seren Hathway, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Whaley Bridge Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whaley Bridge 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 Whaley Bridge Primary School?
- Whaley Bridge Primary School has 142 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Whaley Bridge Primary School full?
- Whaley Bridge Primary School has capacity for 262 pupils and 142 on roll (54%), 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 Whaley Bridge Primary School a faith school?
- No. Whaley Bridge Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Whaley Bridge Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Whaley Bridge Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Whaley Bridge Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Whaley Bridge Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Whaley Bridge Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 31% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Whaley Bridge Primary School compare with other schools in Derbyshire?
- Whaley Bridge Primary School ranked 232nd of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 7% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Whaley Bridge Primary School's absence rate?
- Whaley Bridge Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Whaley Bridge Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Whaley Bridge 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.