Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge
General Information
- Address: Preston Road, Alston, Preston, PR3 3BJ – View on map
- Phone: 01772783661
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Mark FitzGibbon
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 17 families put it first for 19 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2025 14 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Roman Catholic
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 39
- % eligible for free school meals: 18.1%
- Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Ribble Valley average)
- English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 28.8% a year (Ribble Valley 12.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
- Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 3.9%
- Persistently absent pupils: 8.1%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 7.7%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 66% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 3 percentage points below the Ribble Valley average (69%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 59% against an expected 68%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 59%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 79% · Writing 72% · Maths 76% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 72%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 104
- Based on: 29 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: 17th of 27 junior and primary schools in the area
- =15Longridge St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Primary School67%
- =15Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School67%
- #17Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge66%
- =18Chatburn Church of England Primary School65%
- =18Mellor St Mary Church of England Primary School65%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
3rd of 23 primary schools in Ribble Valley for Ofsted rating
- #1Brabins Endowed SchoolOutstanding
- #2Gisburn Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #3Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, LongridgeGood
- #4Balderstone St Leonard's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolGood
- #5Barrow URC Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,282 (2024-25)
26th of 31 primary schools in Ribble Valley for spending per pupil
- #24St James' Church of England Primary School, Clitheroe£6,331
- #25Waddington and West Bradford Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,296
- #26Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge£6,282
- #27Longridge Church of England Primary School£6,210
- #28Whalley Church of England Primary School£6,201
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)