Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
Sutherland Road, Darnhill, Heywood, OL10 3PD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Hollie Aspinall
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- St Teresa Of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Heywood and Middleton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 220
- Pupils on roll
- 202
- URN
- 147941
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706360827
About this school
Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Heywood. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 202 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
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 | 28 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 39% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 66% | 50% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 52% | 43% | 55% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 59% | 54% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary 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 | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41% | 55.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 39% | 56.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 196 |
| 2023/24 | 220 |
| 2024/25 | 216 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy compares
Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 48th of 55 primary schools in Rochdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 6.8% | 48.2% | 202 | — |
| Heap Bridge Village Primary School | — | 4.8% | 27.4% | 170 | 0.4 miles |
| St Margaret's Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | — | 0.5 miles |
| Woodland Community Primary School | 54% | 6% | 49.6% | 564 | 0.7 miles |
| Fairfield Community Primary School | — | — | — | — | 0.9 miles |
| East Ward Community Primary School | 62% | 5.8% | 55.3% | 474 | 1.1 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)
- 48.15%
- English as an additional language
- 26.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.77%
- Persistent absence
- 19.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Heap Bridge Village Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bury
-
St Margaret's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Heywood
-
Woodland Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Heywood
-
Fairfield Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bury
-
East Ward Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Bury
Other schools in Heywood
Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranks 8th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Heywood.
- All Souls Church of England Primary School Primary
- Harwood Park Primary School Primary
- Hopwood Community Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Rochdale, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St Luke's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford Primary
- Woodland Community Primary School Primary
- Edgar Wood Academy Secondary
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College Secondary
- Newhouse Academy Secondary
- Oak Haven School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy teach?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Heywood.
- Who is the headteacher of Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Mrs Hollie Aspinall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary 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 Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 202 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy full?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has capacity for 220 pupils and 202 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 Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 48th of 55 primary schools in Rochdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary 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 10 July 2026.