School Chooser

Eldon Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil239 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubPrestonLancashire
School Chooser Score
4
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 2 to 9
Out of 100. Better than 2% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedInadequateLast Ofsted inspection, March 2024
Reached the expected level at 1126%England 63%
Attendance94.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families21%A bit fewer than most schools
Places9 spare239 pupils, 248 places
Pupils per teacher20.6School workforce census

Eldon Primary School is a council school in Preston for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 239 pupils and room for 248. About 21 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 4 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inadequate, back in 2024.

Eldon Street, Preston, PR1 7YE01772 253557eldonprimaryschool.co.ukMrs Azra Butt headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 20 March 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Inadequate overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Inadequate
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Ofsted has serious worries about this school. It is in serious weaknesses.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1126%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 61%61%20172018: 79%79%20182019: 71%71%20192023: 77%77%20232024: 74%74%20242025: 26%26%2025
Since 2017: -35%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LancashireEngland
Pupils tested313130282823
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths26%74%77%71%79%61%61%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%19%17%14%11%9%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0106.0110.0104.0109.0104.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0104.0106.0108.0107.0104.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0111.0109.0108.0109.0106.0104.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard55%90%90%79%96%74%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard65%77%87%86%100%78%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)26%84%77%86%82%83%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.7-0.1+4.2+2.6
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.4+3.0+2.5+1.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged18%63%69%30%77%67%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged30%87%82%94%80%55%

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.

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
18%30%
Gap 12 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
17%32%
Gap 15 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
24%26%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 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.

Full210 pupils for 203 places, 2024/25
103% full

The school is full, with 7 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 Lancashire 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 roll239Census January 2026
Places24896% full
Pupils from low-income families21%21% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English67%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%50 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.98 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils13%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)26%£85,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls114 / 125
White British pupils23%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (19), language and communications needs (18), emotional and mental health (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Specific learning difficulty (3), Other difficulty or disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll239252257253242243
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals21%23%26%29%34%36%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language67%64%58%43%39%33%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support28%30%28%26%20%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%0%0%0%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school17.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils4.82024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.9%6.0%5.9%5.1%5.0%3.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.6%4.9%4.0%3.5%3.3%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.1%1.8%1.6%1.8%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence17.7%15.8%19.6%12.4%15.9%7.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate4.83.12.00.41.2
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions01010

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 teacher20.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,064
Teachers who left in the year29%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.32022/23

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,684England £7,738. Total £1.7m
Income per pupil£6,573England £7,697. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,578England £3,480
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £188k, £752 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£28kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,684spent 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

Crimes within 500 m90912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate121 per 1,000 people33% higher than the England average
Typical house price£200,000Preston
Nearest bus stop180 mTrafford Street, 23 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
English Martyrs Catholic Primary School, PrestonRoman Catholic620 m229Good 202320Compare
The Roebuck SchoolCouncil710 m340Report card 202610Compare
The Olive School, PrestonFree school0.6 miles421Not inspected95Compare
St Ignatius' Catholic Primary School, PrestonAcademy0.8 miles193Good 2022Compare
Kennington Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles246Good 202446Compare
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, PrestonAcademy0.8 miles209Good 202314Compare
Deepdale Community Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles696Report card 202633Compare
St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, PrestonAcademy0.8 miles316Good 2024Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Eldon Primary School with the 44 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 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats2%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 4 is 51 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 55 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Eldon Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ribbleton Avenue Infant SchoolCouncil1.4 miles244No overall grade 202429Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 4 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 4% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 2 to 9. 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
-0.04
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 31 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.63
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.09
DfE progress measure; 31 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.32
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.05
2024/25; 198 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 31 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 Eldon Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Eldon Primary School scores 4 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 2 to 9, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Eldon Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Eldon Primary School inadequate at its last full inspection on 20 March 2024.

How good are Eldon Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 26% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Eldon Primary School have?

239 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 248 places, so it is 96% full.

Is Eldon Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 7 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Eldon Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Eldon Primary School?

The average class had 29.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 13% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Eldon 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
Eldon Street, Preston, PR1 7YE
Telephone
01772 253557
Website
eldonprimaryschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Azra Butt
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
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Lancashire
Ward
Plungington
Constituency
Preston
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 1900
URN
119229 · LAESTAB 8882188 · UKPRN 10077714

Where these figures come from