St Chad's Catholic Primary School
South Hill, Blackburn Road, Chorley, PR6 8LL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr John Riley
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 157
- Pupils on roll
- 139
- URN
- 119679
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01257264480
About this school
St Chad's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Chorley. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 139 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 12 July 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 70% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 85% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 95% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 75% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.70 | - | - |
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 Chad's Catholic 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 | 65% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 62% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 137 |
| 2023/24 | 139 |
| 2024/25 | 138 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Chad's Catholic Primary School compares
St Chad's Catholic Primary School ranked 240th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62% | 2.7% | 1.5% | 139 | — |
| Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School | 81% | 3% | 4.2% | 240 | 1.2 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley | 74% | 4.4% | 29.9% | 219 | 1.5 miles |
| St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley | 62% | 5.5% | 27.3% | 289 | 1.5 miles |
| Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School | 68% | 2.7% | 4.8% | 183 | 1.6 miles |
| Withnell Fold Primary School | 42% | 3.4% | 5.8% | 83 | 1.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 1.45%
- English as an additional language
- 0.7%
- Overall absence
- 2.73%
- Persistent absence
- 1.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley1.5 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley1.5 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Withnell Fold Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Chorley
Other schools in Chorley
St Chad's Catholic Primary School ranks 27th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Chorley.
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
- Buckshaw Primary School Primary
- Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Chad's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of St Chad's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Chad's Catholic Primary School is Mr John Riley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Chad's Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Chad's Catholic 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 St Chad's Catholic Primary School?
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School has 139 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St Chad's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 157 pupils and 139 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 St Chad's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Chad's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Chad's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Chad's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Chad's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 62% 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 Chad's Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School ranked 240th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 99% 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 Chad's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Chad's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 2.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Chad's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Chad's Catholic 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 6 July 2026.