Appleton Thorn Primary School

Warrington · WA4 4RW

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 198 pupils, 12.6% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.6% on SEN support Behaviour 3.0% absence rate Staff 6.2% turnover Financials £6,322 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Appleton Thorn Primary School

General Information

Address: Arley Road, Appleton Thorn, Warrington, WA4 4RW – View on map
Phone: 01925266764
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Zoe Jones
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 32 families put it first for 30 places – 11 for every 10 places. 78% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 30 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 11 · 2025 12 · 2026 11
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

198 pupils out of 210 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 25
% eligible for free school meals: 12.6%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Warrington average)
English as an additional language: 14% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.2% a year (Warrington 13.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 years, 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

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Warrington: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 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 Warrington, 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: 3.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 5.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 12.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 74% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 5 percentage points above the Warrington average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 65% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 65%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 90% · Writing 77% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 84%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 108
Based on: 31 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

This schoolWarrington averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 5 percentage points above the Warrington average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: 25th of 57 junior and primary schools in the area

=22Christ Church CofE Primary School Padgate75%
=22Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School75%
#25Appleton Thorn Primary School74%
#26Croft Primary School73%
=27Grappenhall St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School72%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Bruche Academy97%
=2Evelyn Street Primary Academy and Nursery90%
=2Statham Primary School90%
#4Glazebury Church of England Primary School89%
#5Grappenhall Heys Community Primary School87%
#6St Helen's Church of England Primary School86%
#7Chapelford Village Primary School85%
#8Woolston CofE Aided Primary School82%
=9Burtonwood Community Primary School81%
=9Park Road Community Primary School81%
=9Penketh Primary School81%
=12Barrow Hall Community Primary School79%
=12Cherry Tree School79%
=12Culcheth Community Primary School79%
=12St Peter's Catholic Primary School79%
=16Beamont Primary School78%
=16Great Sankey Primary School78%
=18Gorse Covert Primary School77%
=18Ravenbank Primary School77%
=18St Joseph's Catholic Primary School77%
=18Stretton St Matthew's CofE Primary School77%
=22Alderman Bolton Primary School75%
=22Christ Church CofE Primary School Padgate75%
=22Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School75%
#25Appleton Thorn Primary School74%
#26Croft Primary School73%
=27Grappenhall St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School72%
=27St Oswald's Catholic Primary School72%
=29Bradshaw Primary School70%
=29St Bridget's Catholic Primary School70%
=29St Stephen's Catholic Primary School70%
=29Stockton Heath Primary School70%
=33Dallam Community Primary School68%
=33Twiss Green Community Primary School68%
#35St Benedict's Catholic Primary School66%
#36St Vincent's Catholic Primary School65%
#37Thelwall Community Junior School64%
=38Winwick CofE Primary School62%
=38Woolston Community Primary School62%
#40St Monica's Catholic Primary School61%
=41Broomfields Junior School60%
=41St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School60%
#43Birchwood CofE Primary School59%
=44Oakwood Avenue Community Primary School57%
=44Oughtrington Primary School57%
#46Locking Stumps Community Primary School56%
#47Brook Acre Community Primary School54%
#48St Augustine's Catholic Primary School53%
=49Latchford St James CofE Primary School52%
=49Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy52%
=49Penketh South Community Primary School52%
#52St Alban's Catholic Primary School48%
#53Newchurch Community Primary School47%
#54Westbrook Old Hall Primary School44%
#55Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School42%
#56St Lewis Catholic Primary School40%
#57Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery School26%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,322 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

32nd of 52 primary schools in Warrington for spending per pupil

#30Newchurch Community Primary School£6,506
#31Locking Stumps Community Primary School£6,408
#32Appleton Thorn Primary School£6,322
#33Culcheth Community Primary School£6,298
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£6,266

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Dallam Community Primary School£10,411
#2Birchwood CofE Primary School£9,385
#3Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery School£8,881
#4Evelyn Street Primary Academy and Nursery£8,405
#5St Lewis Catholic Primary School£8,298
#6Croft Primary School£8,131
#7St Helen's Church of England Primary School£8,116
#8Brook Acre Community Primary School£8,116
#9St Bridget's Catholic Primary School£7,705
#10Glazebury Church of England Primary School£7,688
#11St Vincent's Catholic Primary School£7,685
#12Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£7,629
#13Gorse Covert Primary School£7,469
#14Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School£7,387
#15St Augustine's Catholic Primary School£7,384
#16Oakwood Avenue Community Primary School£7,208
#17Alderman Bolton Primary School£7,120
#18Statham Primary School£7,065
#19Latchford St James CofE Primary School£6,946
#20Woolston Community Primary School£6,932
#21Winwick CofE Primary School£6,916
#22St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School£6,911
#23St Stephen's Catholic Primary School£6,905
#24Beamont Primary School£6,829
#25St Alban's Catholic Primary School£6,828
#26Cherry Tree School£6,779
#27St Benedict's Catholic Primary School£6,626
#28Twiss Green Community Primary School£6,595
#29Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School£6,544
#30Newchurch Community Primary School£6,506
#31Locking Stumps Community Primary School£6,408
#32Appleton Thorn Primary School£6,322
#33Culcheth Community Primary School£6,298
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£6,266
#35Stockton Heath Primary School£6,225
#36Bruche Academy£6,191
#37Penketh South Community Primary School£6,135
#38Great Sankey Primary School£6,111
#39Oughtrington Primary School£6,105
#40St Oswald's Catholic Primary School£6,094
#41Christ Church CofE Primary School Padgate£6,007
#42St Monica's Catholic Primary School£5,921
#43Woolston CofE Aided Primary School£5,862
#44Penketh Primary School£5,861
#45Stretton St Matthew's CofE Primary School£5,749
#46Grappenhall Heys Community Primary School£5,746
#47Ravenbank Primary School£5,726
#48Barrow Hall Community Primary School£5,663
#49Grappenhall St Wilfrid's CofE Primary School£5,523
#50St Peter's Catholic Primary School£5,464
#51Callands Primary Academy£2,444
#52St Thomas' CofE Primary School£1,523

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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