Castercliff Primary School
Marsden Hall Road North, Nelson, BB9 8JJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PENDLE EDUCATION TRUST
- Executive Principal
- Mr Mark Sherwin
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Pendle Education Trust
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 387
- URN
- 142055
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282617627
About this school
Castercliff Primary School is a primary academy in Nelson. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 387 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. 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 8 June 2023, 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 | 43 | 53 | 46 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 38% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 6% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 51% | 45% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 51% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 58% | 53% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 99.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 100.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Castercliff 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 | 40% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 38% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 382 |
| 2023/24 | 402 |
| 2024/25 | 383 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Castercliff Primary School compares
Castercliff Primary School ranked 284th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 7.5% | 44.9% | 387 | — |
| Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy | 40% | 7% | 38.5% | 205 | 0.5 miles |
| Colne Primet Primary School | 60% | 7.1% | 49.7% | 185 | 0.7 miles |
| Walverden Primary School | 65% | 6% | 34.1% | 448 | 0.7 miles |
| Bradley Primary School | 60% | 6.3% | 51.8% | 417 | 0.7 miles |
| Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School | 58% | 7.1% | 42.1% | 137 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.91%
- English as an additional language
- 49.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.49%
- Persistent absence
- 24.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Colne Primet Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Colne
-
Walverden Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Bradley Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Nelson
-
Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Nelson
Other schools in Nelson
Castercliff Primary School ranks 12th 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
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy 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 year groups does Castercliff Primary School teach?
- Castercliff Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Nelson.
- Who is the executive principal of Castercliff Primary School?
- The executive principal of Castercliff Primary School is Mr Mark Sherwin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Castercliff Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Castercliff 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 big is Castercliff Primary School?
- Castercliff Primary School has 387 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Castercliff Primary School full?
- Castercliff Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 387 on roll (92%), 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 Castercliff Primary School a faith school?
- No. Castercliff Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Castercliff Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Castercliff Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Castercliff Primary School?
- Castercliff Primary School is part of PENDLE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Castercliff Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2022/23 and 57% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Castercliff Primary School rank locally?
- Castercliff Primary School ranked 284th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Castercliff Primary School's absence rate?
- Castercliff Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Castercliff Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castercliff 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 2 July 2026.