St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School
Knutton Road, Wolstanton, Newcastle, ST5 0HU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr D Hugill
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lichfield
- Constituency
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 222
- URN
- 124268
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782973875
About this school
St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Newcastle. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 222 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 58 | 59 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 80% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 19% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 85% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 93% | 90% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| 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 Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 79% | 59.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 62% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 228 |
| 2023/24 | 231 |
| 2024/25 | 230 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School compares
St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School ranked 101st of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% 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 | 69% | 3.9% | 8.3% | 222 | — |
| St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School | 72% | 3.6% | 8.6% | 457 | 0.1 miles |
| Ellison Primary Academy | 72% | 5% | 18.6% | 329 | 0.3 miles |
| May Bank Infants' School | — | 3.5% | 5.5% | 173 | 0.4 miles |
| Hempstalls Primary School | 72% | 4.7% | 27% | 501 | 0.6 miles |
| Etruscan Primary School | 30% | 7.6% | 64.3% | 443 | 1.0 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)
- 8.26%
- English as an additional language
- 1.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.93%
- Persistent absence
- 5.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Newcastle
-
Ellison Primary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Newcastle
-
May Bank Infants' School0.4 miles
Primary · Newcastle
-
Hempstalls Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Newcastle
-
Etruscan Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
Other schools in Newcastle
St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School ranks 8th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Newcastle.
- Bursley Academy Primary
- Churchfields Primary School Primary
- Co-op Academy Friarswood Primary
- Crackley Bank Primary School Primary
- Ellison Primary Academy Primary
- Hassell Primary School Primary
- Hempstalls Primary School Primary
- Langdale Primary School Primary
- May Bank Infants' School Primary
- Our Lady and St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Silverdale Primary Academy Primary
- St Chad's CofE (C) Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School teach?
- St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Newcastle.
- Who is the headteacher of St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School?
- The headteacher of St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School is Mr D Hugill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior 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 St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School?
- St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School has 222 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School full?
- St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School has capacity for 240 pupils and 222 on roll (93%), 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 Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School a faith school?
- Yes. St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Lichfield.
- Does St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 79% in 2022/23 and 69% 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 Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School ranked 101st of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% 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 Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School's absence rate?
- St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Margaret's CofE (VC) Junior 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.