Whirley Primary School
Whirley Road, Broken Cross, Macclesfield, SK10 3JL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HALLIARD TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Karen Whalley
- Sponsor
- Halliard Trust
- Constituency
- Macclesfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 212
- URN
- 140598
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01625783815
About this school
Whirley Primary School is a primary academy in Macclesfield. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 212 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Whirley 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 July 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 31 | 31 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 71% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 6% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 100% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 87% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 97% | 97% | 97% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | 0.00 | - | - |
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 Whirley 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 | Cheshire East average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61% | 61.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 60.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 61.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 213 |
| 2024/25 | 213 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whirley Primary School compares
Whirley Primary School ranked 62nd of 114 primary schools in Cheshire East for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 3.4% | 5.2% | 212 | — |
| St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 48% | 4.3% | 17.2% | 268 | 0.7 miles |
| Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery | 52% | 6.6% | 47.9% | 233 | 0.7 miles |
| Upton Priory School | 63% | 3.7% | 25.9% | 277 | 0.9 miles |
| St John the Evangelist CofE Primary School Macclesfield | 62% | 4.9% | 18.7% | 237 | 1.1 miles |
| Ivy Bank Primary School | 56% | 3.9% | 19.4% | 387 | 1.5 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)
- 5.16%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 3.42%
- Persistent absence
- 3.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Macclesfield
-
Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Macclesfield
-
Upton Priory School0.9 miles
Primary · Macclesfield
-
St John the Evangelist CofE Primary School Macclesfield1.1 miles
Primary · Macclesfield
-
Ivy Bank Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Macclesfield
Other schools in Macclesfield
Whirley Primary School ranks 14th of the 27 ranked primary schools in Macclesfield.
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Ash Grove Academy Primary
- Bollinbrook CofE (A) Primary School Primary
- Bollington Cross CofE Primary School Primary
- Bollington St John's CofE Primary School Primary
- Bosley St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Broken Cross Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Chelford CofE Primary School Primary
- Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dean Valley Community Primary School Primary
- Gawsworth Primary School Primary
- Hollinhey Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Whirley Primary School teach?
- Whirley Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Macclesfield.
- Who is the headteacher of Whirley Primary School?
- The headteacher of Whirley Primary School is Mrs Karen Whalley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Whirley Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whirley 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 Whirley Primary School?
- Whirley Primary School has 212 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Whirley Primary School full?
- Whirley Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 212 on roll (101%), 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 Whirley Primary School a faith school?
- No. Whirley Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Whirley Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Whirley Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Whirley Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Whirley Primary School is part of HALLIARD TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Whirley Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Whirley Primary School compare with other schools in Cheshire East?
- Whirley Primary School ranked 62nd of 114 primary schools in Cheshire East for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 94% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Whirley Primary School's absence rate?
- Whirley Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Whirley Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Whirley 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 1 July 2026.