Adlington Primary School, Macclesfield
Adlington Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Macclesfield, part of Halliard Trust. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2011. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in December 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 11th-highest of the 27 schools in Macclesfield with published results, and 4,096th of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.3 first-choice applications for every place. It was 89% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2011)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cheshire East (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Adlington Primary School in detail
Adlington Primary School in its own words
The school runs after-school care.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Adlington Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 87% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 80% and 78% in Cheshire East and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 91% in reading and 91% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Adlington Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 18 families put Adlington Primary School as their first choice and 31 named it as one of their preferences, for 14 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 5 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Adlington Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Adlington Primary School are Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School (1.4 miles, Good, 67% reading, 50% maths); St Paul's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy (1.6 miles, Good, 100% reading, 82% maths); Worth Primary School (1.7 miles, Requires improvement, 74% reading, 81% maths); and Dean Valley Community Primary School (1.7 miles, Good, 83% reading, 87% maths).
Adlington Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Pott Shrigley CofE Primary SchoolSt Paul's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyWorth Primary SchoolDean Valley Community Primary School
The trust
Adlington Primary School is one of 12 schools run by Halliard Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
54 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Adlington Primary School (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 100% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (100%); the weakest, that their child is happy at the school (100%).
Who goes there
3.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 4.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (79%) and Mixed (6%).
In 2026, 6 pupils (6.2%) received SEN support and 5 (5.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Adlington Primary School had 6 teachers in 2026, one for every 16 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Adlington (Cheshire) Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
1 bus stop is within a five-minute walk; the closest is Meadowside Church (outside), 40 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Adlington Primary School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 0 crimes within a mile of the school. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cheshire East (61).
Suspensions and exclusions
Adlington Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from October 2011, 15 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's December 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school excels at making every child feel valued and helping them achieve their best. From the moment children arrive in Reception, they receive excellent phonics teaching and a carefully planned curriculum that builds their knowledge step by step. Beyond academics, the school provides a wonderful range of activities - from visits to museums and theatres to clubs like lacrosse and STEM - helping children develop into well-rounded, confident young people.
Key Strengths
- Ambitious, well-constructed curriculum that clearly identifies what pupils should know and remember from Reception to Year 6
- Excellent phonics teaching from Reception class, helping pupils become confident and competent readers who access the full curriculum
- Exceptional provision for personal development, including online safety, healthy lifestyles, mental well-being and leadership opportunities
- Highly impressive array of enrichment activities and trips that build on the curriculum
- Exemplary pupil behaviour during lessons and at social times, built on mutual respect between pupils and staff
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school creating an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Lacrosse, STEM club, gardening, museum visits, theatre visits, places of worship visits, Christmas production, eco council, before- and after-school clubs
Adlington Primary School is a small, nurturing primary school where pupils are proud, happy and feel safe. The school has been judged to be outstanding across all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
At a Glance
3.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
54 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 91% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 91% to 87% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 93% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
24.3
Avg class size
30.0
Infant (KS1)
26.5
KS2
4
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Adlington Primary School
Term dates
Adlington Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Cheshire East's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Adlington Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Adlington Primary School is in Cheshire East; for families living there:
- Cheshire East's school travel policy: Compulsory school age travel policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 1
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Cheshire East is 6 (the median across 180 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Adlington Primary School
Will you get a place at Adlington Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Adlington Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Adlington Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Adlington Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Cheshire East, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Adlington Primary School for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Cheshire East got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
89%
Available places
93 pupils
105 places
12 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Macclesfield
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Macclesfield
Across Cheshire East council
Places available
4,535
Applications
3,733
Got 1st preference
92.3%
Got preferred school
98.6%
All primary applications across Cheshire East council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
6
SEN Support
5
EHC Plans
11.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
97
Total Pupils
44
Boys
53
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
6
Teachers
16.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,553
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,089
Per pupil
£624k
Total funding
£5k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
2.9%
Overall absence
3.6%
Persistent absence
84
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Adlington Primary School
Questions parents ask about Adlington Primary School
What are SATs results like at Adlington Primary School?
Of the pupils at Adlington Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% reached the expected standard in reading and 87% did so in maths.
What is Adlington Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Adlington Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in December 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2011, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Adlington Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Adlington Primary School is oversubscribed, Cheshire East allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Adlington Primary School?
Adlington Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 89% of its 105 places.
How big are the classes at Adlington Primary School?
Classes at Adlington Primary School average 24.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Adlington Primary School?
Adlington Primary School has around 97 pupils on roll. 3% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Adlington Primary School?
2.9% of sessions were missed at Adlington Primary School in 2024/25. 3.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Adlington Primary School?
Apply through Cheshire East's coordinated admissions process, naming Adlington Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Adlington Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 1 road collision in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Cheshire East is 6 (the median across 180 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Adlington Primary School?
Adlington Primary School is at Brookledge Lane, Adlington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4JX.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)