Mereside Primary Academy
Langdale Road, Blackpool, FY4 4RR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- FYLDE COAST ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr John McDonald
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Fylde Coast Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Blackpool South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 454
- Pupils on roll
- 266
- URN
- 143771
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253761531
About this school
Mereside Primary Academy is a primary academy in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 266 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 3 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 37 | 36 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 47% | 18% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 75% | 43% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 61% | 29% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 83% | 54% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 98.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 100.0 | 97.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
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 Mereside 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 | 62% | 51.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 50.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 18% | 52.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 301 |
| 2023/24 | 297 |
| 2024/25 | 284 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Mereside Primary Academy compares
Mereside Primary Academy ranked 31st of 31 primary schools in Blackpool for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 18% | 7.4% | 71.4% | 266 | — |
| Stanley Primary School | 54% | 5% | 25.5% | 605 | 0.3 miles |
| Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy | 65% | 6.3% | 42.3% | 499 | 0.8 miles |
| Marton Primary Academy and Nursery | 59% | 6.2% | 43.4% | 312 | 0.9 miles |
| St John Vianney's Catholic Primary School, Blackpool | 80% | 4.6% | 24.2% | 451 | 1.1 miles |
| Staining Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 71% | 3.5% | 18.6% | 240 | 1.3 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)
- 71.43%
- English as an additional language
- 7%
- Overall absence
- 7.35%
- Persistent absence
- 26.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stanley Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Marton Primary Academy and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
St John Vianney's Catholic Primary School, Blackpool1.1 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Staining Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Blackpool
Other schools in Blackpool
Mereside Primary Academy ranks 29th 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 Mereside Primary Academy teach?
- Mereside Primary Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Blackpool.
- Who is the headteacher of Mereside Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Mereside Primary Academy is Mr John McDonald, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Mereside Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mereside 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 Mereside Primary Academy?
- Mereside Primary Academy has 266 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Mereside Primary Academy full?
- Mereside Primary Academy has capacity for 454 pupils and 266 on roll (59%), 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 Mereside Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Mereside Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Mereside Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Mereside Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Mereside Primary Academy?
- Mereside Primary Academy is part of FYLDE COAST ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Mereside Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 18% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Mereside Primary Academy rank locally?
- Mereside Primary Academy ranked 31st of 31 primary schools in Blackpool for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Mereside Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Mereside Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mereside Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mereside 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 2 July 2026.