St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School
Highgate Road, Up Holland, Skelmersdale, WN8 0HX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Head Teacher
- Mr Carl Roscoe
- Diocese
- Diocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 238
- Pupils on roll
- 211
- URN
- 119495
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695622970
About this school
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Skelmersdale. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 211 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 February 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 | 23 | 27 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 74% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 87% | 74% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 91% | 74% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 70% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
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 Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England 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 | 61% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 221 |
| 2023/24 | 215 |
| 2024/25 | 219 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School compares
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranked 76th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 5.1% | 30.6% | 211 | — |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School | 85% | 3.6% | 6.7% | 227 | 0.4 miles |
| Holland Moor Primary School | 74% | 5.8% | 39.9% | 412 | 0.8 miles |
| Moorside Community Primary Academy School | 59% | 5.8% | 54.2% | 256 | 0.9 miles |
| Orrell Holgate Academy | 86% | 4% | 17% | 198 | 1.0 miles |
| Upholland Roby Mill CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School | — | 8.7% | 31.8% | 30 | 1.1 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)
- 30.6%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.06%
- Persistent absence
- 13.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Upholland
-
Holland Moor Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Moorside Community Primary Academy School0.9 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Orrell Holgate Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Upholland Roby Mill CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
Other schools in Skelmersdale
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranks 5th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Skelmersdale.
- Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brookfield Park Primary School Primary
- Cobbs Brow School Primary
- Crawford Village Primary School Primary
- Crow Orchard Primary School Primary
- Delph Side Community Primary School Primary
- Hillside Community Primary School Primary
- Holland Moor Primary School Primary
- Little Digmoor Primary School Primary
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School Primary
- St Edmund's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School teach?
- St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Skelmersdale.
- Who is the head teacher of St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School?
- The head teacher of St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is Mr Carl Roscoe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England 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 St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School?
- St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has 211 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School full?
- St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has capacity for 238 pupils and 211 on roll (89%), 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 Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 76% 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 Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School ranked 76th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% 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 Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England 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.