Cottam Primary School, Preston
Cottam Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Preston. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 75th-highest of the 106 schools in Preston with published results, and 10,359th of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.3 first-choice applications for every place. It was 67% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2014)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Lancashire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Cottam Primary School in detail
Cottam Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "We would like to invite you to our Open day on Wednesday 14th October. We have three drop-in sessions available: 10:00am-11:00am or 2:00pm-3:00pm or 5:30pm-7:00pm There is no need to book an appointment. You are welcome to simply turn up at any time during one of the drop-in sessions."
From the headteacher's welcome: "I am delighted to welcome you and your child to Cottam Primary School. Choosing a primary school is a huge step and a major decision and we are delighted that you are considering Cottam. At Cottam we strive to provide pupils with an education which enables them to achieve their full potential."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include gymnastics, dance, choir and recorder.
The school runs after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils at Cottam Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 73% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in Lancashire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 88% in reading and 81% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Cottam Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 77 families put Cottam Primary School as their first choice and 185 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 21 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Cottam Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Cottam Primary School are Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingol, Preston (0.6 miles); Lea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 75% reading, 80% maths); Ingol Community Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 80% reading, 80% maths); and Pool House Community Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 82% reading, 89% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Cottam Primary School.
Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingol, PrestonLea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary SchoolIngol Community Primary SchoolPool House Community Primary School
What parents say
67 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Cottam Primary School (as of September 2025): 85% would recommend the school, 99% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (99%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).
Who goes there
12.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 8.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (82%), Mixed (6%) and Asian (5%).
In 2026, 36 pupils (11.7%) received SEN support and 7 (2.3%) 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.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Salwick Rail Station, about 2.3 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Primary School (by), 60 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Cottam Primary School issued 3 suspensions, 1.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
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; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); 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 January 2014, 12 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 November 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Cottam Primary School creates a caring, inclusive environment where your child will be happy and safe. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and work hard to meet each pupil's needs, with excellent support for children with special educational needs. The school prioritises reading and gives pupils leadership opportunities so they develop confidence and learn to help others.
Key Strengths
- Strong relationships between staff and pupils that inspire them to help others and take on leadership roles
- Well-trained staff who teach reading with clear phonics programmes, making most pupils confident readers by the end of key stage 1
- Calm and productive learning environment with good behaviour underpinned by the school's values of compassion and respect
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs who achieve well and participate in all aspects of school life
- Leaders promote personal development well through visits, faith education, and teaching pupils about staying safe online and healthy relationships
Areas for Improvement
- In a small number of subjects, older pupils have gaps in learning from the previous curriculum, and teachers do not routinely check pupils have the knowledge they need to understand new learning
- A very small minority of pupils at the earliest stages of reading struggle to read fluently, and the support they receive is sometimes not effective in helping them catch up with their peers
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created a positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Choir, ju-jitsu, football, dance, residential visit to Snowdonia, visits to places of worship, visits to Preston North End football ground, eco-council, play leaders, sports leaders
Cottam Primary School is a Good primary school where pupils are happy, safe and well-behaved. The school has a broad, ambitious curriculum and high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs.
At a Glance
12.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
67 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 88% to 67% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 81% to 73% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 66% to 45% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
30.1
Avg class size
29.7
Infant (KS1)
33.0
KS2
7
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Cottam Primary School
Term dates
Cottam Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Lancashire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2026 to 2027
- Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026)
- Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027)
- Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027)
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028)
- Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Cottam Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Cottam Primary School is in Lancashire; for families living there:
- Lancashire's school travel policy: school transport policies
- How to apply: Apply for free home to school transport assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 2
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
0 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 Lancashire is 12 (the median across 707 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 Cottam Primary School
Will you get a place at Cottam Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Cottam Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Cottam Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Cottam Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Lancashire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Cottam Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Lancashire 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
67%
Available places
281 pupils
420 places
139 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Preston
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Preston
Across Lancashire council
Places available
15,442
Applications
12,122
Got 1st preference
91.3%
Got preferred school
98.3%
All primary applications across Lancashire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(9)
Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good, but Ofsted raised concerns; its next inspection will be a full graded one.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
36
SEN Support
7
EHC Plans
14.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
308
Total Pupils
155
Boys
153
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
20.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,536
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,093
Per pupil
£1584k
Total funding
£59k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.9%
Overall absence
5.3%
Persistent absence
226
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
Cottam Primary School
Questions parents ask about Cottam Primary School
What are SATs results like at Cottam Primary School?
Of the pupils at Cottam Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 67% reached the expected standard in reading and 73% did so in maths.
What is Cottam Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Cottam Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2014, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Cottam Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Cottam Primary School is oversubscribed, Lancashire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Cottam Primary School?
Cottam Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 67% of its 420 places.
How big are the classes at Cottam Primary School?
Classes at Cottam Primary School average 30.1 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Cottam Primary School?
Cottam Primary School has around 308 pupils on roll. 12% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Cottam Primary School?
3.9% of sessions were missed at Cottam Primary School in 2024/25. 5.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Cottam Primary School?
Apply through Lancashire's coordinated admissions process, naming Cottam 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.
What are Cottam Primary School's term dates?
Cottam Primary School is a community school, so its term dates are set by Lancashire. In 2026 to 2027: Autumn term: Tuesday 1 September to Friday 18 December 2026 (half term Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026); Spring term: Monday 4 January to Thursday 25 March 2027 (half term Monday 15 February to Friday 19 February 2027); Summer term: Monday 12 April to Wednesday 21 July 2027 (half term Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June 2027). In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Wednesday 1 September to Friday 17 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Tuesday 4 January to Friday 31 March 2028 (half term Monday 14 February to Friday 18 February 2028); Summer term: Tuesday 18 April to Friday 21 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near Cottam Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. 2 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 0 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 Lancashire is 12 (the median across 707 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cottam Primary School?
Cottam Primary School is at Haydocks Lane, Cottam, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 0NY.
Sources: Lancashire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)