Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Ladies Hill, Pilling, Preston, PR3 6HA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Jonathan Ratcliffe
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 93
- URN
- 119555
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253790282
About this school
Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 93 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 16 | 11 | 14 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 64% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 9% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 73% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 82% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 73% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.20 | - | - |
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 Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 | 69% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 64% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 114 |
| 2023/24 | 100 |
| 2024/25 | 104 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School compares
Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranked 132nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 4.7% | 16.5% | 93 | — |
| St William's Catholic Primary School, Pilling | 14% | 4% | 34.2% | 47 | 0.9 miles |
| Carter's Charity Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Preesall | 46% | 4.9% | 27% | 164 | 1.9 miles |
| Preesall Fleetwood's Charity Church of England Primary School | 50% | 5.6% | 22.7% | 119 | 2.4 miles |
| Stalmine Primary School | 56% | 4.9% | 24.7% | 103 | 2.8 miles |
| Hambleton Primary Academy | 82% | 4.1% | 10.1% | 247 | 4.2 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)
- 16.47%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- Overall absence
- 4.72%
- Persistent absence
- 10.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St William's Catholic Primary School, Pilling0.9 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Carter's Charity Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Preesall1.9 miles
Primary · Poulton-Le-Fylde
-
Preesall Fleetwood's Charity Church of England Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Poulton-le-Fylde
-
Stalmine Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Poulton-le-Fylde
-
Hambleton Primary Academy4.2 miles
Primary · Poulton-le-Fylde
Other schools in Preston
Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranks 36th 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 year groups does Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School teach?
- Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- The headteacher of Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Mr Jonathan Ratcliffe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
- Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 93 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School full?
- Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has capacity for 105 pupils and 93 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 Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School rank locally?
- Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School ranked 132nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's absence rate?
- Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pilling St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 15 July 2026.