Legh Vale Primary School, St Helens
Legh Vale Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in St Helens. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 31st-highest of the 36 schools in St Helens with published results, and 12,729th of 14,452 across England. It was 88% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to St. Helens (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Legh Vale Primary School in detail
Legh Vale Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Please click on the Our School tab on the right, to select one of the available options."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, dance and cheerleading.
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:45am and after-school care, from £4.50 per session.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils at Legh Vale Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 56% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 74% in St. Helens and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 70% in reading and 64% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Legh Vale Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 31 families put Legh Vale Primary School as their first choice and 70 named it as one of their preferences, for 41 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Legh Vale Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Legh Vale Primary School are Grange Valley Primary School (0.7 miles, Outstanding, 75% reading, 82% maths); St. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary School (0.9 miles, Good, 74% reading, 62% maths); St James' Church of England Primary School (1 mile, Good, 75% reading, 95% maths); and Haydock English Martyrs' Primary School (1 mile, Good, 76% reading, 73% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Legh Vale Primary School.
Grange Valley Primary SchoolSt. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary SchoolSt James' Church of England Primary SchoolHaydock English Martyrs' Primary School
What parents say
35 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Legh Vale Primary School (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).
Who goes there
6.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 110 pupils (24.5%) received SEN support and 8 (1.8%) 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 Garswood Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.
9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Wagon Lane (ne-bound), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Legh Vale Primary School issued 7 suspensions, 1.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Legh Vale Primary School are Outwood Academy Haydock (0.3 miles) and St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy (1 mile).
Outwood Academy HaydockSt Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
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
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from March 2015, 11 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 October 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The school excels at making reading a priority for all ages, with expert teaching that helps struggling readers become confident. Pupils with additional needs receive tailored support from well-trained staff. The school creates a welcoming, ambitious environment where children are enthusiastic learners who feel proud to be part of the school community.
Key Strengths
- Strong focus on reading with well-trained staff and diverse texts for older pupils
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs, with staff trained to identify additional needs quickly
- Wide range of enrichment activities and clubs that promote pupils' talents and interests
- Clear expectations for academic success that pupils rise to meet
- Pupils display excellent behaviour, friendliness and enthusiasm for learning throughout the school
Areas for Improvement
- Some subject curriculums lack clear detail about the specific knowledge pupils should learn
- Staff do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to recall and revisit previous learning, so knowledge doesn't stick
- Pupils have limited understanding of British Values and different faiths and cultures
- Pupils sometimes forget what they've learned previously and struggle to build on their knowledge
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school maintaining a strong focus on pupil safety and wellbeing.
Extracurricular Activities
Cricket, football, choir, visits from authors and poets, rugby teams, annual Legh Vale's got Talent show, trips to local safari park, science museum and farm
Legh Vale Primary School is a good school where pupils are happy, safe and achieve well across the curriculum. The school has recently appointed a new headteacher and is embarking on an exciting period of improvement with ambitious curriculum plans.
At a Glance
22.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
35 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 70% to 66% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 64% to 56% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 70% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
29.9
Avg class size
24.5
Infant (KS1)
33.4
KS2
15
Total classes
7 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Legh Vale Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Legh Vale Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Legh Vale Primary School is in St. Helens; for families living there:
Apply to St. Helens for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 13
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 10 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
4 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 St. Helens is 11.5 (the median across 80 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 Legh Vale Primary School
Will you get a place at Legh Vale Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Legh Vale Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Legh Vale Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Legh Vale Primary School.
- St. Helens publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Legh Vale Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Legh Vale Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in St. Helens 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
88%
Available places
430 pupils
491 places
61 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Helens
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Helens
Across St. Helens council
Places available
2,180
Applications
1,809
Got 1st preference
90.3%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All primary applications across St. Helens council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
110
SEN Support
8
EHC Plans
26.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
449
Total Pupils
224
Boys
225
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
21
Teachers
21.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£55,006
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,336
Per pupil
£2612k
Total funding
£185k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.8%
Overall absence
12.5%
Persistent absence
393
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
Legh Vale Primary School
Questions parents ask about Legh Vale Primary School
What are SATs results like at Legh Vale Primary School?
Of the pupils at Legh Vale Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 66% reached the expected standard in reading and 56% did so in maths.
What is Legh Vale Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Legh Vale Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Legh Vale Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Legh Vale Primary School is oversubscribed, St. Helens allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Legh Vale Primary School?
Legh Vale Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 88% of its 491 places.
How big are the classes at Legh Vale Primary School?
Classes at Legh Vale Primary School average 29.9 pupils (2025/26). 7 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Legh Vale Primary School?
Legh Vale Primary School has around 449 pupils on roll. 23% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Legh Vale Primary School?
4.8% of sessions were missed at Legh Vale Primary School in 2024/25. 12.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Legh Vale Primary School?
Apply through St. Helens's coordinated admissions process, naming Legh Vale 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 Legh Vale Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 10 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 4 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 St. Helens is 11.5 (the median across 80 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Legh Vale Primary School?
Legh Vale Primary School is at Legh Road, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 0ER.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)