St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall
Haslingden Old Road, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, BB4 8RZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Neil Gurman
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 182
- URN
- 119368
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706216407
About this school
St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Rossendale. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 182 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 5 March 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 | 31 | 30 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 57% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 3% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 73% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 63% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 67% | 58% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall 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 | 58% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 195 |
| 2023/24 | 188 |
| 2024/25 | 184 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall compares
St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall ranked 337th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 | 50% | 5.5% | 23.4% | 182 | — |
| St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall | 81% | 3.5% | 14.1% | 211 | 0.1 miles |
| Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School | 44% | 4.8% | 14.3% | 276 | 0.3 miles |
| Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School | 32% | 7.6% | 46.7% | 109 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden | 71% | 3% | 18.6% | 139 | 1.0 miles |
| Haslingden Primary School | 58% | 5.1% | 39.4% | 372 | 1.4 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)
- 23.37%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.53%
- Persistent absence
- 15.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall0.1 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Rawtenstall
-
Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden1.0 miles
Primary · Rossendale
-
Haslingden Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Rossendale
Other schools in Rossendale
St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall ranks 9th of the 13 ranked primary schools in Rossendale.
- Crawshawbooth Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Broadway Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Primary School Primary
- Helmshore Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall Primary
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden Primary
- St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Newchurch Primary
- Water Primary School Primary
- Waterfoot Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall teach?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Rossendale.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall?
- The headteacher of St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall is Mr Neil Gurman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall, 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall has 182 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall full?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall has capacity for 210 pupils and 182 on roll (87%), 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall rank locally?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall ranked 337th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall's absence rate?
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall'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.