School Chooser

Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedChurch of England166 pupilsNurseryCleckheatonKirklees
School Chooser Score
32
Below
similar schools
Likely range 15 to 57, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 54% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, June 2024
Reached the expected level at 1154%England 63%
Attendance93.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families32%A bit more than most schools
Places44 spare166 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher22.9School workforce census

Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Cleckheaton for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 166 pupils and room for 210. About 32 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 32 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 54% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Shirley Avenue, Gomersal, Cleckheaton, BD19 4NA01274 874550gomersalstmarys.co.ukMiss Jane Barker headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1154%
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 score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 48%48%20172018: 53%53%20182019: 63%63%20192023: 58%58%20232024: 59%59%20242025: 54%54%2025
Since 2017: +6%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017KirkleesEngland
Pupils tested242731303029
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths54%59%58%63%53%48%61%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%6%7%13%0%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0106.0103.0106.0103.0103.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0104.0106.0106.0102.0103.0104.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0104.0103.0107.0105.0105.0104.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%70%68%70%67%66%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard79%74%81%83%70%69%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)79%63%77%80%77%59%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.0+2.1-1.9-1.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.7+2.5-2.2-1.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged60%70%67%43%43%23%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged50%53%55%70%57%69%

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. 2 of the 3 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
60%50%
Gap 10 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
38%63%
Gap 25 ptsEngland 5 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places168 pupils for 206 places, 2024/25
82% full

38 places were empty (18% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 7% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Will my child get a place?

In 2025 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2025. Every child who applied got a place (26 offers for 30 places).

EntryPlacesGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2025 Primary3026all offeredLA
2024 Primary3028all offeredLA

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 roll166Census January 2026
Places21079% full
Pupils from low-income families32%32% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English9%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%35 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.45 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils20%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)32%£83,700 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls91 / 75
White British pupils80%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (16), emotional and mental health (6), language and communications needs (6), Specific learning difficulty (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Other difficulty or disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll166166158180202213
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals32%34%30%26%26%21%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language9%6%6%4%4%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support21%14%22%20%22%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%4%2%3%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.1%5.5%5.9%6.5%3.3%4.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.4%3.9%4.1%5.0%2.8%3.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%1.6%1.7%1.4%0.5%1.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.8%11.5%12.4%15.2%7.0%11.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.60.09.41.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers7.3full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher22.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,603
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher21.52024/25

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£7,687England £7,738. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£7,593England £7,697. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,125England £3,480
Money in reserve5%Not much put by: £65k, £393 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£16kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£7,687spent 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 m41912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate92 per 1,000 peopleabout the England average
Typical house price£210,000Kirklees
Nearest bus stop260 mPollard Avenue, 17 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
Gomersal Primary SchoolCouncil440 m396Good 202342Compare
Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery SchoolFoundation0.9 miles165Good 202365Compare
Co-op Academy Smithies MoorAcademy0.9 miles148Requires improvement 202415Compare
Howard Park Community SchoolCouncil1.0 miles235Good 202227Compare
St Patrick's Catholic Primary AcademyAcademy1.0 miles234Good 202374Compare
St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior, Infant and Early Years SchoolChurch of England1.1 miles187Good 202386Compare
Birstall Primary AcademyAcademy1.1 miles187Good 202351Compare
Millbridge, A Share Primary AcademyAcademy1.2 miles279Report card 202654Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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.

Beats54%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 32 is 5 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 27 · highest 85100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 32 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 32% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 15 to 57. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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%below
-0.11
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 24 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.03
DfE progress measure; 24 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.04
2024/25; 142 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
-0.01
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 24 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 Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School scores 32 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 54% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 15 to 57, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School good at its last full inspection on 11 June 2024.

How good are Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 54% 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 Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

166 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 79% full.

Is Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 38 places were empty in 2024/25 (18% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

Pupils were in school 93.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 15% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Gomersal St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

The average class had 28.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 20% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Shirley Avenue, Gomersal, Cleckheaton, BD19 4NA
Telephone
01274 874550
Website
www.gomersalstmarys.co.uk
Headteacher
Miss Jane Barker
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Leeds (ce)
Local authority
Kirklees
Ward
Liversedge and Gomersal
Constituency
Spen Valley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
107747 · LAESTAB 3823332 · UKPRN 10075952

Where these figures come from