Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy
Trent Road, Nelson, BB9 0NX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED
- Headteacher
- Mrs Michaela Underwood
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Sponsor
- Cidari Trust
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 141981
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282615055
About this school
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Nelson. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 205 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy, 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 24 January 2024, 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 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 57% | 40% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 67% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 63% | 50% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 73% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| 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 Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 40% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 207 |
| 2023/24 | 208 |
| 2024/25 | 205 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy compares
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy ranked 391st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% 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 | 40% | 7% | 38.5% | 205 | — |
| Castercliff Primary School | 57% | 7.5% | 44.9% | 387 | 0.5 miles |
| Walverden Primary School | 65% | 6% | 34.1% | 448 | 0.5 miles |
| Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School | 58% | 7.1% | 42.1% | 137 | 0.8 miles |
| Bradley Primary School | 60% | 6.3% | 51.8% | 417 | 0.9 miles |
| Marsden Community Primary School | 65% | 5.2% | 32.6% | 415 | 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)
- 38.54%
- English as an additional language
- 35.1%
- Overall absence
- 7%
- Persistent absence
- 22.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castercliff Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Walverden Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Bradley Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Marsden Community Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Nelson
Other schools in Nelson
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy ranks 15th of the 16 ranked primary schools in Nelson.
- Barrowford School Primary
- Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blacko Primary School Primary
- Bradley Primary School Primary
- Castercliff Primary School Primary
- Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson Primary
- Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- Lomeshaye Junior School Primary
- Marsden Community Primary School Primary
- Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Pendle Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy teach?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Nelson.
- Who is the headteacher of Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy?
- The headteacher of Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy is Mrs Michaela Underwood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England 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 many pupils are at Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy has 205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy full?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 205 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy part of an academy trust?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy is part of CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 40% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy ranked 391st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% 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 Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England 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 2 July 2026.