St James CofE Primary School
Wolverley Crescent, Oldbury, B69 1BG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Daniel Heather
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Smethwick
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 500
- Pupils on roll
- 449
- URN
- 131673
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215525491
About this school
St James CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Oldbury. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 449 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James CofE Primary 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
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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected 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 | 60 | 60 | 58 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 52% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 5% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 77% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 70% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 72% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.00 | - | - |
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 James CofE 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 | Sandwell average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 57.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 460 |
| 2023/24 | 455 |
| 2024/25 | 451 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James CofE Primary School compares
St James CofE Primary School ranked 51st of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 6.2% | 52.4% | 449 | — |
| Rowley Hall Primary School | — | 9.5% | — | 585 | 0.4 miles |
| Langley Primary School | 81% | 4.8% | 45.3% | 440 | 0.7 miles |
| Grace Mary Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 33.6% | 241 | 0.8 miles |
| Rounds Green Primary School | 51% | 7.4% | 37.3% | 367 | 0.8 miles |
| Blackheath Primary School | 63% | 4.6% | 37.4% | 456 | 0.9 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)
- 52.42%
- English as an additional language
- 25.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.16%
- Persistent absence
- 20.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Rowley Hall Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Rowley Regis
-
Langley Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Oldbury
-
Grace Mary Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Oldbury
-
Rounds Green Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Oldbury
-
Blackheath Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Rowley Regis
Other schools in Oldbury
St James CofE Primary School ranks 10th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Oldbury.
- Bleakhouse Primary School Primary
- Brandhall Primary School Primary
- Burnt Tree Primary School Primary
- Causeway Green Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Church of England Primary School Primary
- Grace Mary Primary School Primary
- Langley Primary School Primary
- Moat Farm Infant School Primary
- Moat Farm Junior School Primary
- Oakham Primary School Primary
- Our Lady and St Hubert's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Perryfields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James CofE Primary School teach?
- St James CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Oldbury.
- Who is the headteacher of St James CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St James CofE Primary School is Mr Daniel Heather, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James CofE 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 many pupils are at St James CofE Primary School?
- St James CofE Primary School has 449 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St James CofE Primary School full?
- St James CofE Primary School has capacity for 500 pupils and 449 on roll (90%), 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 James CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St James CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Birmingham.
- Does St James CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St James CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St James CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 59% 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 James CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Sandwell?
- St James CofE Primary School ranked 51st of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% 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 James CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St James CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James CofE 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 15 July 2026.