St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy
New Hall Lane, Preston, PR1 5XB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED
- Associate Headteacher
- Mr Mark Mackley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Cidari Trust
- Constituency
- Preston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 406
- Pupils on roll
- 415
- URN
- 148904
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772794482
About this school
St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is a Church of England primary academy in Preston. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 415 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 56 | 58 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 38% | 42% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 54% | 50% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 50% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 59% | 48% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 100.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 99.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.00 | - | - |
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 Matthew's Church of England 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 38% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 42% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 456 |
| 2023/24 | 468 |
| 2024/25 | 456 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy compares
St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy ranked 385th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42% | 6.7% | 28.6% | 415 | — |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Preston | 78% | 6.4% | 33.9% | 347 | 0.1 miles |
| Ribbleton Avenue Infant School | — | 6.4% | 35.9% | 244 | 0.4 miles |
| Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior School | 49% | 5.4% | 39.5% | 281 | 0.4 miles |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Preston | 47% | 7.3% | 47.8% | 214 | 0.4 miles |
| Fishwick Primary School | 53% | 6.1% | 65.3% | 167 | 0.4 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)
- 28.64%
- English as an additional language
- 67.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.68%
- Persistent absence
- 22.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Preston0.1 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Ribbleton Avenue Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Preston0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Fishwick Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy ranks 92nd of the 106 ranked primary schools in Preston.
- Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge Primary
- Ashton Primary School Primary
- Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barton St Lawrence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bilsborrow John Cross Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brabins Endowed School Primary
- Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School Primary
- Brockholes Wood Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brookfield Community Primary School Primary
- Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School Primary
- Calder Vale St John Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy teach?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the associate headteacher of St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy?
- The associate headteacher of St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is Mr Mark Mackley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's Church of England 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 many pupils are at St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy has 415 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy full?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy has capacity for 406 pupils and 415 on roll (102%), 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 Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Does St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy is part of CIDARI EDUCATION LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 38% in 2022/23 and 42% 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 Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy ranked 385th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% 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 Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's absence rate?
- St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Matthew's Church of England 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 3 July 2026.