School Chooser

Barlow Hall Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy231 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubManchester
School Chooser Score
57
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 31 to 78
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1177%England 63%
Attendance94.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families60%Far more than most schools
Places84 spare231 pupils, 315 places
Pupils per teacher19.9School workforce census
Pupils on roll231Census January 2026

Barlow Hall Primary School is a converter academy in Manchester for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 231 pupils and room for 315. About 60 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 57 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it.

Darley Avenue, Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester, M21 7JG0161 881 2158barlowhallprimary.co.ukMs Alice Corlett headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

30 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1177%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 83%83%20172018: 75%75%20182019: 68%68%20192023: 62%62%20232024: 58%58%20242025: 77%77%2025
Since 2017: -6%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017†ManchesterEngland
Pupils tested304345444430
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths77%58%62%68%75%83%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%7%0%5%5%3%5%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0107.0107.0105.0104.0105.0104.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0107.0104.0106.0106.0106.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0108.0107.0110.0107.0107.0105.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard90%77%84%73%82%83%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%72%73%84%89%87%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)80%58%69%84%86%83%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.7+1.4+0.7+2.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.3+1.2+1.9+1.7
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged83%42%45%62%68%78%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged67%71%78%78%88%92%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Barlow Hall Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2017. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
83%67%
Gap 16 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
70%80%
Gap 10 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
80%77%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
6%7%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Plenty of spare places193 pupils for 315 places, 2024/25
61% full

122 places were empty (39% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 22% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Manchester council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll231Census January 2026
Places31573% full
Pupils from low-income families60%60% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English21%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support28%64 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan11%26 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.08 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)61%£168,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls115 / 116
White British pupils43%

Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 7 pupils, for autism, speech, language and communication.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Manchester with autism provision.

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (57), emotional and mental health (15), Moderate learning difficulty (11), Severe learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll231242259283287288
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals60%58%49%49%45%40%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language21%25%23%27%27%29%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support27%28%26%27%22%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans10%10%7%6%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.9%6.0%6.2%5.2%2.8%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.2%3.8%4.5%4.1%2.4%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.6%2.1%1.7%1.2%0.5%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.1%15.8%11.7%12.4%5.0%6.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.40.00.70.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers11.6full-time equivalent, 12 people
Pupils per teacher19.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£59,950
Teachers who left in the year14%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher10.92024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£9,376England £7,128. Total £2.3m
Income per pupil£9,120England £7,587. Total £2.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,905England £3,405
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £381k, £1,574 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£62kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£9,376spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Typical house price£254,000Manchester
Nearest bus stop90 mGodbert Avenue, 14 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Chorlton Park PrimaryAcademy700 m683Good 202447Compare
St Ambrose RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic820 m162Good 20239Compare
Brookburn Community SchoolAcademy0.8 miles427Good 202491Compare
Cavendish Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles576Not inspectedCompare
Chorlton CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England1.1 miles227No overall grade 202493Compare
Worthington Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles446Good 202081Compare
Rack House Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles460Report card 202587Compare
Northenden Community SchoolAcademy1.3 miles232Good 2019Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Barlow Hall Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 57 is 40 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 17 · highest 82100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 57 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 57% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 31 to 78. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.06
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 30 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.15
DfE progress measure; 30 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.12
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.06
2024/25; 177 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.22
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 30 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Barlow Hall Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Barlow Hall Primary School scores 57 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 31 to 78, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

How good are Barlow Hall Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 77% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Barlow Hall Primary School have?

231 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 315 places, so it is 73% full.

Is Barlow Hall Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 122 places were empty in 2024/25 (39% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Barlow Hall Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Barlow Hall Primary School?

The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Barlow Hall Primary School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for autism, speech, language and communication. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Barlow Hall Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Darley Avenue, Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester, M21 7JG
Telephone
0161 881 2158
Website
barlowhallprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Ms Alice Corlett
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Connect Alliance Trust (5 schools)
Local authority
Manchester
Ward
Chorlton Park
Constituency
Manchester Withington
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2017 (academy converter)
URN
144128 · LAESTAB 3522325 · UKPRN 10063042
Formerly
Barlow Hall Primary School

Where these figures come from