James Bateman Middle School
Park Lane, Knypersley, Biddulph, ST8 7AT
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE CREATIVE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Tracy Price
- Sponsor
- The Creative Learning Partnership
- Constituency
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 440
- Pupils on roll
- 373
- URN
- 146914
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782973900
About this school
James Bateman Middle School is a middle academy in Biddulph. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 373 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected James Bateman Middle 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 19 July 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 | 104 | 88 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 66% | 61% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 6% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 92% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 72% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 86% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
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 James Bateman Middle 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 66% | 59.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 62% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 392 |
| 2023/24 | 397 |
| 2024/25 | 373 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How James Bateman Middle School compares
James Bateman Middle School ranked 165th of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire 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 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 8.2% | 37.5% | 373 | — |
| Woodhouse Academy | 80% | 4.6% | 13.6% | 402 | 1.4 miles |
| St Edward's Church of England Academy | 59% | 6.3% | 16.4% | 662 | 5.7 miles |
| Churnet View Middle School | 47% | 5.2% | 28% | 440 | 6.8 miles |
| Roaches School | — | — | 0% | 40 | 0.1 miles |
| Knypersley First School | — | 4.9% | 22.8% | 312 | 0.1 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)
- 37.53%
- English as an additional language
- 0.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.17%
- Persistent absence
- 23.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woodhouse Academy1.4 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
St Edward's Church of England Academy5.7 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Leek
-
Churnet View Middle School6.8 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Leek
-
Roaches School0.1 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Knypersley First School0.1 miles
Primary · Stoke-on-Trent
Common questions
- What ages does James Bateman Middle School teach?
- James Bateman Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Biddulph.
- Who is the headteacher of James Bateman Middle School?
- The headteacher of James Bateman Middle School is Mrs Tracy Price, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has James Bateman Middle School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected James Bateman Middle 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 James Bateman Middle School?
- James Bateman Middle School has 373 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is James Bateman Middle School full?
- James Bateman Middle School has capacity for 440 pupils and 373 on roll (85%), 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 James Bateman Middle School a faith school?
- No. James Bateman Middle School has no designated religious character.
- Is James Bateman Middle School part of an academy trust?
- James Bateman Middle School is part of THE CREATIVE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have James Bateman Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 66% 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 James Bateman Middle School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- James Bateman Middle School ranked 165th of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire 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 16% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is James Bateman Middle School's absence rate?
- James Bateman Middle School's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are James Bateman Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, James Bateman Middle 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 10 July 2026.