St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh
The Hill, Horns Lane, Preston, PR3 2FJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Miss Sarah Deakin
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 104
- URN
- 119633
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772865369
About this school
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 104 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh, 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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong 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 | 6 | 12 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 67% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 100% | 83% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 75% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 100% | 75% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh 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 | 67% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 2.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 95 |
| 2023/24 | 103 |
| 2024/25 | 104 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh compares
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh ranked 174th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 2.7% | 6.7% | 104 | — |
| Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School | 72% | 3.7% | 9.3% | 199 | 1.3 miles |
| Barnacre Road Primary School | 41% | 5.3% | 21.5% | 201 | 1.8 miles |
| Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary School | 67% | 5% | 25.6% | 199 | 1.9 miles |
| Goosnargh Whitechapel Primary School | 79% | 3.6% | 6.9% | 103 | 2.0 miles |
| Longridge Church of England Primary School | 83% | 4.9% | 20.5% | 200 | 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)
- 6.73%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 2.65%
- Persistent absence
- 3.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Barnacre Road Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Longridge
-
Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Goosnargh Whitechapel Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Longridge Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh ranks 44th 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 St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh teach?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh?
- The headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh is Miss Sarah Deakin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh, 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 St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh has 104 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh full?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh has capacity for 105 pupils and 104 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Does St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh as having nursery classes.
- How have St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 67% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh ranked 174th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh's absence rate?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh's overall absence rate is 2.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Catholic Primary School, Goosnargh'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 1 July 2026.