Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School
Kepple Lane, Garstang, Preston, PR3 1PB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Jim Blakely
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 257
- URN
- 119528
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01995603454
About this school
Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 257 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Garstang St Thomas' Church of England 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 34 | 28 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 85% | 86% | 90% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 21% | 21% | 16% |
| Expected standard in reading | 97% | 93% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 100% | 100% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 97% | 100% | 97% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 109.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 110.0 | 112.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.20 | - | - |
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 Garstang St Thomas' 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 | 85% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 86% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 90% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 253 |
| 2023/24 | 255 |
| 2024/25 | 261 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School compares
Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School ranked 11th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 90% | 3.1% | 8.8% | 257 | — |
| St Mary and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Garstang | — | — | — | 97 | 0.5 miles |
| Garstang Community Primary School | 75% | 3.1% | 14.3% | 202 | 0.7 miles |
| Kirkland and Catterall St Helen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 65% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 169 | 1.2 miles |
| Nateby Primary School | 77% | 3.4% | 10% | 87 | 1.4 miles |
| Winmarleigh Church of England Primary School | — | 4.4% | 21.1% | 19 | 2.2 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 8.84%
- English as an additional language
- 0.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.1%
- Persistent absence
- 4.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, Garstang0.5 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Garstang Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Kirkland and Catterall St Helen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Nateby Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Winmarleigh Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School ranks 2nd of the 106 ranked primary schools in Preston.
- Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge Primary
- Ashton Primary School Primary
- Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barton St Lawrence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bilsborrow John Cross Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brabins Endowed School Primary
- Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School Primary
- Brockholes Wood Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brookfield Community Primary School Primary
- Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School Primary
- Calder Vale St John Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School teach?
- Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School is Mr Jim Blakely, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Garstang St Thomas' 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 many pupils are at Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School?
- Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School has 257 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School full?
- Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 257 on roll (122%), 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 Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Garstang St Thomas' 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 85% in 2022/23 and 90% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School ranked 11th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 97% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Garstang St Thomas' Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Garstang St Thomas' 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.