Walverden Primary School
Bracewell Street, Nelson, BB9 0TL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms H Ahmed
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 448
- URN
- 119178
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282614834
About this school
Walverden Primary School is a community primary school in Nelson. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 448 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 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 | 60 | 60 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 67% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 8% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 73% | 70% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 82% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 77% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.40 | - | - |
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 Walverden 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 444 |
| 2023/24 | 460 |
| 2024/25 | 451 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Walverden Primary School compares
Walverden Primary School ranked 198th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 6% | 34.1% | 448 | — |
| Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School | 58% | 7.1% | 42.1% | 137 | 0.3 miles |
| Marsden Community Primary School | 65% | 5.2% | 32.6% | 415 | 0.5 miles |
| Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy | 40% | 7% | 38.5% | 205 | 0.5 miles |
| Bradley Primary School | 60% | 6.3% | 51.8% | 417 | 0.6 miles |
| St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 18% | 5.7% | 37.7% | 209 | 0.6 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)
- 34.07%
- English as an additional language
- 71.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.98%
- Persistent absence
- 19.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Marsden Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Bradley Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Nelson
Other schools in Nelson
Walverden Primary School ranks 6th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Nelson.
- Barrowford School Primary
- Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blacko Primary School Primary
- Bradley Primary School Primary
- Castercliff Primary School Primary
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy Primary
- Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson Primary
- Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- Lomeshaye Junior School Primary
- Marsden Community Primary School Primary
- Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Walverden Primary School teach?
- Walverden Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Nelson.
- Who is the headteacher of Walverden Primary School?
- The headteacher of Walverden Primary School is Ms H Ahmed, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Walverden Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Walverden 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 Walverden Primary School?
- Walverden Primary School has 448 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Walverden Primary School full?
- Walverden Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 448 on roll (107%), so it is at or above 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 Walverden Primary School a faith school?
- No. Walverden Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Walverden Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Walverden Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Walverden Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Walverden Primary School rank locally?
- Walverden Primary School ranked 198th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Walverden Primary School's absence rate?
- Walverden Primary School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Walverden Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Walverden 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 30 June 2026.