Schools around here

St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall

Primary · Voluntary aided school · Mixed · Lancashire

Unity Way, Rossendale, BB4 8SU

Website 01706216190

73

headline score

Ranking (England)

—

No ranked results

Ofsted

School remains Good

No graded inspection

Application demand

100%

1st preference success · Not oversubscribed

Attendance

96.5%

4.4% persistently absent

Above averageAround averageBelow averagecompared with the England average for state-funded schools.

At a glance

Pupils on roll

211

Capacity used

Over capacity

100%

210 places

GCSE rank (England)

—

KS2 rank (England)

—

Application demand

Primary entry · official council applications and offers

Not oversubscribed

100%

1st preference success rate

25 of 25 families who put it first got an offer

30

Places offered

90

Total applications

3.0

Applications per place

Preference (Sept 2025 entry)ApplicationsOffersSuccess
1st preference2525● 100%
2nd preference363● 8%
3rd preference280● 0%
Later preferences10● 0%
Total902831%

1st preference success by year

73%
2020
93%
2021
100%
2022
85%
2023
94%
2024
100%
2025

Lancashire lets families list 3 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.

Details

Type
Voluntary aided school
Phase
Primary
Age range
5–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Sixth form
No
Nursery
No Nursery Classes
Boarding
No boarders
Headteacher
Jessica Bell-Shaw
Address
Unity Way, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, BB4 8SU
Phone
01706216190
Local authority
Lancashire
Ward / constituency
Longholme · Rossendale and Darwen
Area
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
119665

Pupils

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Free school meals11%——
English as additional language1%——
SEN support3%——
47% boys (99)53% girls (112)

Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)

1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.

211 pupils · 210 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.

Ofsted inspections

  1. 23

    19 January 2023

    Ungraded inspection

    School remains Good
View all Ofsted reports

Attendance

2024/2025 school year · 183 pupils

Attendance

96.5%

Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%

Overall absence

3.5%

Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%

Persistent absence

4.4%

Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%

Severe absence

0.6%

Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%

Unauthorised absence

0.3%

Absences the school didn't approve

Persistent absence by year

3%
20/21
8%
21/22
9%
22/23
9%
23/24
4%
24/25

Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.

Primary results (Key Stage 2)

MeasureSchoolLAEngland
Expected standard in reading, writing & maths73%——
Higher standard7%——
Reading progress——0.0
Writing progress——0.0
Maths progress——0.0

Primary results by subject (SATs)

Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England

Reading, writing & maths combined

Expected standard81%
+19% vs England
Higher standard19%
+11% vs England

Reading

Expected standard81%
+6% vs England
Higher standard31%
-2% vs England
Average score106
+0 vs England

Writing

Expected standard88%
+16% vs England
Greater depth28%
+15% vs England

Maths

Expected standard88%
+14% vs England
Higher standard38%
+12% vs England
Average score107
+2 vs England

Grammar, punctuation & spelling

Expected standard84%
+11% vs England
Higher standard50%
+20% vs England
Average score110
+5 vs England

Science

Expected standard91%
+9% vs England

England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).

Primary results over time

872019872023732024812025

Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)

ResultSchoolEngland (approx.)
Expected standard (RWM)81%61%
Higher standard19%8%

House prices near the school

Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.

Loading prices…

Key application dates

National deadlines in England. Apply through Lancashire council, not the school.

EntryDeadlineOffer day
Reception (primary)15 January16 April (or next working day)

Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.