Bentham Community Primary School
Low Bentham Road, Bentham, Lancaster, LA2 7BP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Wright
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Skipton and Ripon
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 147
- URN
- 121380
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01524261412
About this school
Bentham Community Primary School is a community primary school in Lancaster. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 147 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
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 23 | 21 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 52% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 29% | 9% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 83% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 95% | 74% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 83% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.90 | - | - |
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 Bentham Community 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 | North Yorkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 76% | 56.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 58.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 59.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 160 |
| 2023/24 | 160 |
| 2024/25 | 145 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bentham Community Primary School compares
Bentham Community Primary School ranked 186th of 233 primary schools in North Yorkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 4.5% | 24.6% | 147 | — |
| Tatham Fells Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | — | 4.5% | 0% | 28 | 2.8 miles |
| Ingleton Primary School | 56% | 3.5% | 7.6% | 191 | 2.9 miles |
| Wray with Botton Endowed Primary School | 50% | 3.6% | 6.5% | 62 | 3.8 miles |
| Melling St Wilfrid Church of England Primary School | 50% | 6% | 8.7% | 22 | 3.8 miles |
| Leck St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 40% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 38 | 4.6 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)
- 24.6%
- English as an additional language
- 3.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.49%
- Persistent absence
- 9.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Tatham Fells Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
Ingleton Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Carnforth
-
Wray with Botton Endowed Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
Melling St Wilfrid Church of England Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Carnforth
-
Leck St Peter's Church of England Primary School4.6 miles
Primary · Via Carnforth
Other schools in Lancaster
Bentham Community Primary School ranks 20th of the 24 ranked primary schools in Lancaster.
- Austwick Church of England VA Primary School Primary
- Bowerham Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Castle View Primary Academy Primary
- Caton Primary School Primary
- Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cawthorne's Endowed School Primary
- Dolphinholme Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ellel St John the Evangelist Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hornby St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Dallas Road Community Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Ryelands Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bentham Community Primary School teach?
- Bentham Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Lancaster.
- Who is the headteacher of Bentham Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Bentham Community Primary School is Mr Richard Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bentham Community Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bentham Community 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 Bentham Community Primary School?
- Bentham Community Primary School has 147 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Bentham Community Primary School full?
- Bentham Community Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 147 on roll (70%), 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 Bentham Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Bentham Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Bentham Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Bentham Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Bentham Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 76% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bentham Community Primary School rank locally?
- Bentham Community Primary School ranked 186th of 233 primary schools in North Yorkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bentham Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Bentham Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bentham Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bentham Community 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.