Waterloo Primary Academy
Waterloo Road, Blackpool, FY4 3AG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ZEST ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Jenny Brown
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Zest Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Blackpool South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 656
- Pupils on roll
- 600
- URN
- 138300
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253315370
About this school
Waterloo Primary Academy is a primary academy in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 600 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 89 | 89 | 89 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 56% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 78% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 73% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 75% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| 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 Waterloo Primary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47% | 51.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 50.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 52.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 592 |
| 2023/24 | 608 |
| 2024/25 | 610 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Waterloo Primary Academy compares
Waterloo Primary Academy ranked 8th of 31 primary schools in Blackpool for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 7.1% | 56.7% | 600 | — |
| St John Vianney's Catholic Primary School, Blackpool | 80% | 4.6% | 24.2% | 451 | 0.4 miles |
| St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy | 66% | 5.3% | 35.6% | 245 | 0.4 miles |
| Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy | 65% | 6.3% | 42.3% | 499 | 0.5 miles |
| Blackpool Gateway Academy | 44% | 7.5% | 69% | 287 | 0.5 miles |
| Revoe Learning Academy | 46% | 7.4% | 61.3% | 436 | 0.6 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)
- 56.74%
- English as an additional language
- 15.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.13%
- Persistent absence
- 25.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John Vianney's Catholic Primary School, Blackpool0.4 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Blackpool Gateway Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Revoe Learning Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Blackpool
Other schools in Blackpool
Waterloo Primary Academy ranks 9th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Blackpool.
- Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Gateway Academy Primary
- Blackpool St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School Primary
- Boundary Primary School Primary
- Christ The King Catholic Academy Primary
- Devonshire Primary Academy Primary
- Hawes Side Academy Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Kincraig Primary School Primary
- Layton Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Waterloo Primary Academy teach?
- Waterloo Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackpool.
- Who is the principal of Waterloo Primary Academy?
- The principal of Waterloo Primary Academy is Mrs Jenny Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Waterloo Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Waterloo Primary Academy, 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 Waterloo Primary Academy?
- Waterloo Primary Academy has 600 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Waterloo Primary Academy full?
- Waterloo Primary Academy has capacity for 656 pupils and 600 on roll (91%), 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 Waterloo Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Waterloo Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Waterloo Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Waterloo Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Waterloo Primary Academy?
- Waterloo Primary Academy is part of ZEST ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Waterloo Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 70% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Waterloo Primary Academy rank locally?
- Waterloo Primary Academy ranked 8th of 31 primary schools in Blackpool for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Waterloo Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Waterloo Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Waterloo Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Waterloo Primary Academy'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 1 July 2026.