St James' Church of England Primary School
Crossfield Road, Wardle, Rochdale, OL12 9JW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- WATERGROVE TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Jade Lord
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Sponsor
- Watergrove Trust
- Constituency
- Rochdale
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 210
- URN
- 144689
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706378268
About this school
St James' Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Rochdale. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 210 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
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 | 29 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 62% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 10% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 86% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 69% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 79% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.20 | - | - |
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 St James' Church of England 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 | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 77% | 55.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 56.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 208 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 214 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' Church of England Primary School compares
St James' Church of England Primary School ranked 31st of 55 primary schools in Rochdale 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 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 5.4% | 25.7% | 210 | — |
| St Andrew's Church of England Primary School and Nursery | 76% | 5.2% | 19.2% | 444 | 0.8 miles |
| Kentmere Primary Academy | 71% | 4.2% | 38.5% | 353 | 1.1 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 200 | 1.2 miles |
| Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 55% | 7.6% | 54.2% | 117 | 1.3 miles |
| Hamer Community Primary School | 55% | 3.9% | 54.8% | 323 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report21 April 2026
- 8 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.7%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.4%
- Persistent absence
- 14.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School and Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Kentmere Primary Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy1.2 miles
Primary · Littleborough
-
Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy1.3 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Hamer Community Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Rochdale
Other schools in Rochdale
St James' Church of England Primary School ranks 19th of the 32 ranked primary schools in Rochdale.
- Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ashfield Valley Primary School Primary
- Belfield Community School Primary
- Brimrod Community Primary School Primary
- Broadfield Community Primary School Primary
- Caldershaw Primary School Primary
- Castleton Primary School Primary
- Crossgates Primary School Primary
- Deeplish Primary Academy Primary
- Greenbank Primary School Primary
- Hamer Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St James' Church of England Primary School teach?
- St James' Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Rochdale.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of St James' Church of England Primary School is Ms Jade Lord, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St James' Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' Church of England 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 St James' Church of England Primary School?
- St James' Church of England Primary School has 210 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St James' Church of England Primary School full?
- St James' Church of England Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 210 on roll (100%), 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 St James' Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St James' Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St James' Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St James' Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St James' Church of England Primary School?
- St James' Church of England Primary School is part of WATERGROVE TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St James' Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% 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 St James' Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- St James' Church of England Primary School ranked 31st of 55 primary schools in Rochdale 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 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St James' Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St James' Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' Church of England 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 15 July 2026.