Altham St James Church of England Primary School
Altham St James CE Primary School, Burnley Road, Accrington, BB5 5UH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Carol Woods
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 63
- Pupils on roll
- 84
- URN
- 119577
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282772174
About this school
Altham St James Church of England Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Accrington. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 84 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Altham St James 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 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
- Strong 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 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 73% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 0% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 73% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 82% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 82% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Altham St James 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 | 70% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 74 |
| 2023/24 | 79 |
| 2024/25 | 81 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Altham St James Church of England Primary School compares
Altham St James Church of England Primary School ranked 212th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 3.1% | 7.4% | 84 | — |
| Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 67% | 2.7% | 1.5% | 138 | 1.1 miles |
| Read St John's CofE Primary School | 73% | 4% | 13.5% | 201 | 1.1 miles |
| Accrington Huncoat Primary School | 56% | 6.1% | 37.9% | 211 | 1.4 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors | 64% | 4.5% | 43.3% | 128 | 1.5 miles |
| St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, Padiham | 80% | 3.9% | 25.6% | 233 | 1.5 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)
- 7.41%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 3.05%
- Persistent absence
- 1.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Burnley
-
Read St John's CofE Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Burnley
-
Accrington Huncoat Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Accrington
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors1.5 miles
Primary · Accrington
-
St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, Padiham1.5 miles
Primary · Burnley
Other schools in Accrington
Altham St James Church of England Primary School ranks 10th of the 25 ranked primary schools in Accrington.
- Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Church of England Primary School Primary
- Accrington Huncoat Primary School Primary
- Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School Primary
- Accrington Peel Park Primary School Primary
- Accrington Spring Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Accrington St John with St Augustine Church of England Primary School Primary
- Accrington St Mary Magdalen's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Accrington Woodnook Primary School Primary
- Baxenden St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Moors All Saints' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Moors Mount Pleasant Primary School Primary
- Green Haworth Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Altham St James Church of England Primary School teach?
- Altham St James Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Accrington.
- Who is the headteacher of Altham St James Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Altham St James Church of England Primary School is Mrs Carol Woods, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Altham St James Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Altham St James 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 Altham St James Church of England Primary School?
- Altham St James Church of England Primary School has 84 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Altham St James Church of England Primary School full?
- Altham St James Church of England Primary School has capacity for 63 pupils and 84 on roll (133%), 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 Altham St James Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Altham St James Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Altham St James Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Altham St James Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Altham St James 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 70% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Altham St James Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Altham St James Church of England Primary School ranked 212th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Altham St James Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Altham St James 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 Altham St James Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Altham St James 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.