Appleton Thorn Primary School
Arley Road, Appleton Thorn, Warrington, WA4 4RW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Zoe Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Challenge Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Warrington South
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 198
- URN
- 149676
- Local authority
- Warrington
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01925266764
About this school
Appleton Thorn Primary School is a primary academy in Warrington. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 198 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 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 84% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 108.0 |
Trends over time
How Appleton Thorn 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 | Warrington average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 66% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 65% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 66.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 197 |
| 2024/25 | 202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Appleton Thorn Primary School compares
Appleton Thorn Primary School ranked 25th of 57 primary schools in Warrington for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 3% | 8.4% | 198 | — |
| Grappenhall Heys Community Primary School | 87% | 4.1% | 6% | 396 | 1.1 miles |
| Stretton St Matthew's CofE Primary School | 77% | 4.1% | 9.7% | 209 | 1.3 miles |
| Broomfields Junior School | 60% | 3.7% | 24.4% | 323 | 1.5 miles |
| Grappenhall St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School | 72% | 3.2% | 4.6% | 404 | 1.7 miles |
| St Monica's Catholic Primary School | 61% | 3.9% | 11.3% | 152 | 1.7 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)
- 8.42%
- English as an additional language
- 14.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.01%
- Persistent absence
- 5.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Grappenhall Heys Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Warrington
-
Stretton St Matthew's CofE Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Warrington
-
Broomfields Junior School1.5 miles
Primary · Warrington
-
Grappenhall St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Warrington
-
St Monica's Catholic Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Warrington
Other schools in Warrington
Appleton Thorn Primary School ranks 28th of the 65 ranked primary schools in Warrington.
- Alderman Bolton Primary School Primary
- All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan Primary
- Barrow Hall Community Primary School Primary
- Beamont Primary School Primary
- Bewsey Lodge Academy Primary
- Birchwood CofE Primary School Primary
- Bradshaw Primary School Primary
- Brook Acre Community Primary School Primary
- Broomfields Junior School Primary
- Bruche Academy Primary
- Burtonwood Community Primary School Primary
- Callands Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Appleton Thorn Primary School teach?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Warrington.
- Who is the headteacher of Appleton Thorn Primary School?
- The headteacher of Appleton Thorn Primary School is Mrs Zoe Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Appleton Thorn Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Appleton Thorn 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 Appleton Thorn Primary School?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School has 198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Appleton Thorn Primary School full?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 198 on roll (94%), 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 Appleton Thorn Primary School a faith school?
- No. Appleton Thorn Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Is Appleton Thorn Primary School a selective school?
- No. Appleton Thorn Primary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Appleton Thorn Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Appleton Thorn Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Appleton Thorn Primary School?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School is part of THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Appleton Thorn Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2023/24 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Appleton Thorn Primary School rank locally?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School ranked 25th of 57 primary schools in Warrington for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Appleton Thorn Primary School's absence rate?
- Appleton Thorn Primary School's overall absence rate is 3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Appleton Thorn Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Appleton Thorn 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 10 July 2026.