St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale
Higher Walton Road, Walton-le-Dale, Preston, PR5 4HD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Liz Hindley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 199
- URN
- 119640
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772555436
About this school
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 199 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 32 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 53% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 16% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 81% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 63% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 78% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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 Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale 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 | 58% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 181 |
| 2023/24 | 177 |
| 2024/25 | 188 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale compares
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale ranked 310th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 3.9% | 16.5% | 199 | — |
| Walton-le-Dale, St Leonard's Church of England Primary School | 62% | 3.6% | 10% | 228 | 0.5 miles |
| Walton-le-Dale Community Primary School | 59% | 3.5% | 16.6% | 446 | 1.0 miles |
| Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School | 20% | 6.8% | 44.1% | 95 | 1.0 miles |
| St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School | 52% | 5.3% | 28.5% | 251 | 1.1 miles |
| Higher Walton Church of England Primary School | 59% | 6.8% | 29.4% | 81 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report5 February 2025
- 8 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.49%
- English as an additional language
- 12.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.9%
- Persistent absence
- 6.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Walton-le-Dale, St Leonard's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Walton-le-Dale Community Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Preston
-
St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Higher Walton Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale ranks 77th 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 St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale teach?
- St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale?
- The headteacher of St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale is Mrs Liz Hindley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale, 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 Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale?
- St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale has 199 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale full?
- St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale has capacity for 210 pupils and 199 on roll (95%), 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 Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale a faith school?
- Yes. St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 53% 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 Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale rank locally?
- St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale ranked 310th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% 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 Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale's absence rate?
- St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale'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.