Cottam Primary School
Haydocks Lane, Cottam, Preston, PR4 0NY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kellie Rainford
- Constituency
- Preston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 308
- Pupils on roll
- 308
- URN
- 131720
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772727053
About this school
Cottam Primary School is a community primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 308 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cottam 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 30 | 32 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 63% | 45% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 88% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 81% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 84% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 108.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 Cottam 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 | 53% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 63% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 45% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.9% | 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 | 210 |
| 2023/24 | 249 |
| 2024/25 | 280 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cottam Primary School compares
Cottam Primary School ranked 368th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45% | 3.9% | 13.6% | 308 | — |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingol, Preston | — | — | — | 192 | 0.6 miles |
| Lea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary School | 65% | 5.6% | 20.7% | 138 | 0.6 miles |
| Ingol Community Primary School | 70% | 5% | 53.5% | 208 | 0.6 miles |
| Pool House Community Primary School | 79% | 5.3% | 35.2% | 182 | 0.7 miles |
| Ashton Primary School | 45% | 5.5% | 38.7% | 194 | 0.8 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)
- 13.57%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.87%
- Persistent absence
- 5.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingol, Preston0.6 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Lea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Ingol Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Pool House Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Ashton Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
Cottam Primary School ranks 90th 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 ages does Cottam Primary School teach?
- Cottam Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of Cottam Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cottam Primary School is Mrs Kellie Rainford, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cottam Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cottam 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 Cottam Primary School?
- Cottam Primary School has 308 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Cottam Primary School full?
- Cottam Primary School has capacity for 308 pupils and 308 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Cottam Primary School a faith school?
- No. Cottam Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Cottam Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Cottam Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Cottam Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 45% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cottam Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Cottam Primary School ranked 368th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cottam Primary School's absence rate?
- Cottam Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cottam Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cottam 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.