Withnell Fold Primary School
Withnell Fold, Withnell, Chorley, PR6 8BA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sara Moreton
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 98
- Pupils on roll
- 83
- URN
- 119306
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254830437
About this school
Withnell Fold Primary School is a community primary school in Chorley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 83 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 January 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 14 | 11 | 12 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 27% | 42% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 100% | 82% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 82% | 50% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 27% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.10 | - | - |
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 Withnell Fold 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 | 64% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 27% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 42% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 89 |
| 2023/24 | 80 |
| 2024/25 | 86 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Withnell Fold Primary School compares
Withnell Fold Primary School ranked 386th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42% | 3.4% | 5.8% | 83 | — |
| Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 75% | 2.8% | 1.4% | 66 | 1.0 miles |
| Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School | 68% | 2.7% | 4.8% | 183 | 1.1 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell | 71% | 3.3% | 6.1% | 92 | 1.4 miles |
| St Chad's Catholic Primary School | 62% | 2.7% | 1.5% | 139 | 1.7 miles |
| Abbey Village Primary School | 80% | 6.8% | 24.1% | 52 | 1.9 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)
- 5.81%
- English as an additional language
- 3.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.37%
- Persistent absence
- 4.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell1.4 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
St Chad's Catholic Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Abbey Village Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Chorley
Other schools in Chorley
Withnell Fold Primary School ranks 38th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Chorley.
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
- Buckshaw Primary School Primary
- Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Withnell Fold Primary School teach?
- Withnell Fold Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of Withnell Fold Primary School?
- The headteacher of Withnell Fold Primary School is Mrs Sara Moreton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Withnell Fold Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Withnell Fold 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 Withnell Fold Primary School?
- Withnell Fold Primary School has 83 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Withnell Fold Primary School full?
- Withnell Fold Primary School has capacity for 98 pupils and 83 on roll (85%), 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 Withnell Fold Primary School a faith school?
- No. Withnell Fold Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Withnell Fold Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Withnell Fold Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Withnell Fold 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 42% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Withnell Fold Primary School rank locally?
- Withnell Fold Primary School ranked 386th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Withnell Fold Primary School's absence rate?
- Withnell Fold Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Withnell Fold Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Withnell Fold 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.