St John's RC Primary School, Manchester

Good
Primary
Voluntary aided school
Mixed
Roman Catholic
Ages 311

Data last updated 30 Jun 2026

Location

Very likely (~437m)Possible (~624m)Unlikely (~811m)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs B O'Donoghue
Pupils:405 / 420 capacity
LA:Manchester
Phone:01618811040
Address:Chepstow Road, Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester, M21 9SN
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Good

Overall

URN:105546
UKPRN:10070745
Diocese:Diocese of Salford
Constituency:Manchester Withington
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St John's is a caring, welcoming school where children thrive. The headteacher has created an exciting curriculum that gets pupils excited about learning, particularly in reading and maths where they achieve above average results. The school offers a wonderful range of clubs and enrichment activities - from Spanish exchanges to violin lessons - ensuring every child finds something they love.

Key Strengths

  • Pupils have excellent attitudes to school and feel safe, with strong relationships between staff and pupils
  • Reading is a key strength - pupils become confident, fluent readers and achieve well compared to national averages
  • Exceptional range of lunchtime and after-school clubs including comedy drama, violin, and sports to nurture individual talents
  • Mathematics teaching is strong with pupils achieving above national averages by the time they leave
  • Teachers understand the needs of disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, who achieve well as a result

Areas for Improvement

  • Subject leaders are new to their roles and need to check the quality of education in their subjects more regularly to ensure consistency
  • Phonics teaching between year groups is disjointed - lower-ability pupils repeat learning rather than progressing at a faster pace
  • Teachers have lower expectations for handwriting and spelling in younger year groups (Years 1-4)
  • Children in early years need more support to develop fine motor skills to improve their writing neatness

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is effective - the school has a strong culture of safeguarding with regular staff training, good knowledge of pupils, and vulnerable pupils' needs being met well.

Extracurricular Activities

Comedy drama, violin, Spanish exchange visits, residential trips, wide range of sporting activities, meditation, debates

St John's RC Primary School is a good school where pupils love coming and have positive attitudes towards learning. The headteacher has successfully reinvigorated the school's ambition and refreshed the curriculum, though there is more work to do to ensure consistency across all subjects.

At a Glance

13.1%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

114 responses
Would recommend96%
Child is happy99%
Well taught93%
Good progress85%
Feels safe99%
Well behaved97%
Bullying dealt with9%
Kept informed90%
Handles concerns50%
Wider development94%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+10ppMaths+18ppWriting+4pp

Reading has improved from 73% to 83%. Maths has improved from 69% to 87%. Writing has improved from 73% to 77%.

Class Sizes

27.9

Avg class size

23.2

Infant (KS1)

26.2

KS2

11

Total classes

1 class with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Latest from St John's RC Primary School

From St John's RC Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.

Getting There

Tube / Metro / Tram

Firswood (Manchester Metrolink) (To Manchester)
614m · 10 min walk
Firswood Station (Manchester Metrolink) (Entrance)
641m · 10 min walk
Chorlton Station (Manchester Metrolink) (Entrance)
720m · 12 min walk

Bus Stops

Chorlton Library (o/s)
318m · 5 min walk
Kensington Road (opp)
348m · 6 min walk
Warwick Road (Stop D)
446m · 7 min walk
Manchester Road (Stop A)
467m · 8 min walk
Clarendon Road West (nr)
492m · 8 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

96%

Near capacity

405 pupils

420 capacity

15 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Manchester

Low pressure
New homes approved:18,398
Projected new pupils:4,600

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Manchester

Admissions Demand - Manchester

Low demand0.77x oversubscription

Places available

7,395

Applications

5,691

Got 1st preference

97.3%

Got preferred school

99.5%

Primary admissions across Manchester (2025/26)

Inspection History(106)

Date not published by Ofsted
Good
Date not published by Ofsted
Good
Date not published by Ofsted
Good

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

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School Funding

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

3.44624%

Overall absence

5.80645%

Persistent absence

310

Enrolments

Authorised2.70465%
Unauthorised0.74158%
Persistent (10%+)5.80645%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

2.73457%
18/19
3.69665%
20/21
4.66833%
21/22
3.48059%
22/23
3.80331%
23/24
3.44624%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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