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Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School

Primary Ages 3-11 369 pupils Chester
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Chester

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Chester for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 369 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2023. In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: March 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Voluntary aided school
Age Range 3-11
Religion Church of England
Address Walpole Street
Chester
Cheshire
CH1 4HG
Phone 01244455275
Reference Number 136806

General Makeup

Number of pupils 369
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 51.49%
Girls: 48.51%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 12.1%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 53.1%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 26.8
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 23.8
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 28.2

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 27 29 56
2 20 28 48
3 15 15 30
4 30 26 56
5 29 26 55
6 36 20 56

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 34.1%
White, Other 19.8%
Indian 14.6%
African 8.1%
Asian, Other 4.6%
Mixed, Other 3.3%
White & Black (African) 3%
Chinese 2.4%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1.6%
White & Asian 1.6%
Caribbean 0.8%
Pakistani 0.5%

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment where pupils thrive. The school achieves good outcomes across all key areas, with leaders and staff showing ambition for all students, including those with special educational needs. Pupils are happy, feel safe, and benefit from a broad and engaging curriculum that includes well-structured early reading and outdoor activities. Moreover, the school community shares a strong sense of cultural heritage, which further enriches the students' experiences.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Early Years Provision Good
Last Report Date 17 Jan 2023
Date Report
17 Jan 2023 School inspection:
12 Dec 2017 Short inspection
30 Jan 2013 Full inspection:

Strengths

  • Strong sense of inclusion and community within the school.
  • Ambitious curriculum that supports all pupils, including those with SEND.
  • Well-trained teachers effectively implement the curriculum.
  • Effective safeguarding measures in place.
  • Pupils exhibit good behaviour and engage positively in lessons.
  • Strong leadership and management that values staff well-being.

Areas for Improvement

  • In a few subjects, the sequencing of learning is not logically structured from early years through to Year 1 and beyond.
  • Checks on the curriculum implementation are underdeveloped in some subjects.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 61%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 107
Maths 107

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 0.5
Writing -0.8
Maths 1.4

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 9 2
Third Preference 12 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School had 351 pupils for 420 places. 69 places (16.4%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Chester Central Primary” planning area

Cheshire West and Chester counted 226 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 224 in 2029–30, down 1%.

2012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 420420420420420420420420420420420420420
Pupils 336348371377382385391388378390379380351
Unfilled 20.0%17.1%11.7%10.2%9.0%8.3%6.9%7.6%10.0%7.1%9.8%9.5%16.4%

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.2%3.6%3.6%3.2%3.5%3.6%2.8%5.2%5.8%5.0%4.7%
Unauthorised absence 1.1%1.3%1.3%1.2%1.2%1.6%1.2%1.5%1.8%1.5%1.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.3%0.6%0.3%0.6%0.3%0.6%0.0%1.4%1.4%0.6%

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.20.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.71.20.00.5
Permanent exclusions 00000000000000

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 13.311.811.311.210.210.79.89.39.28.59.29.910.011.011.5
Teachers who left state teaching 27.9%5.2%0.0%0.0%9.7%2.7%3.3%0.0%8.6%2.8%12.4%0.0%10.6%7.8%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 73.9%54.2%75.0%69.2%45.8%52.0%66.7%56.0%–58.3%85.0%61.9%76.2%57.1%–
Sick days per teacher 7.62.57.16.73.44.35.64.8–5.611.75.96.67.5–

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.6% of pupils at Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 16 2
Speech, language and communication needs 6 4
Autistic spectrum disorder 5 4
No specialist assessment of need 6 0
Moderate learning difficulty 1 1
Other difficulty or disability 2 0
Specific learning difficulty 2 0
Hearing impairment 1 0
Physical disability 0 1

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School received £7,234 and spent £7,319 for each of its 358 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £184,000 (-£514 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20192020202120222023202420252026
Revenue reserve £184,000£191,000£168,000£78,000-£10,000-£95,000-£153,000-£184,000
per pupil £439£469£435£197-£25-£239-£396-£514
In-year balance £85,000£7,000-£23,000-£89,000-£89,000-£85,000-£58,000-£31,000
per pupil £203£16-£60-£225-£221-£213-£149-£85

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

Name Distance
The Grosvenor Park Church of England Academy
Union Street, Chester, Union Street, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 1QP
0.73 miles
Newton Primary School
Kingsway West, Newton, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 2LA
0.85 miles
St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School
Lightfoot Street, Hoole, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 3AD
0.98 miles
The Firs School
1 miles
Highfield Community Primary School
Blacon Point Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5LD
1.06 miles
Mill View Primary School
Wealstone Lane, Upton, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1HB
1.06 miles
St Martin's Academy Chester
91 Hoole Road, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 3NG
1.07 miles
St Theresa's Catholic Primary School
Kipling Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5UU
1.17 miles
The Arches Community Primary School
Saughall Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5EZ
1.2 miles
Hoole Church of England Primary School
Hoole Lane, Hoole, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 3HB
1.25 miles
Overleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary School
Old Wrexham Road, Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 7HS
1.33 miles
Dee Point Primary School
Blacon Point Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5NF
1.37 miles
Cherry Grove Primary School
Cherry Grove Road, Chester, CH3 5EG
1.38 miles
Upton Westlea Primary School
Upton Westlea Primary School, Weston Grove, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1QJ
1.42 miles
Upton Heath CofE Primary School
Upton Lane, Upton Heath, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1ED
1.48 miles
J H Godwin Primary School
Melbourne Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5JG
1.63 miles
Boughton Heath Academy
Becketts Lane, Great Boughton, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 5RW
1.65 miles
St Anthony's R.C. Primary School
High Street, Flintshire, CH4 8SG
1.78 miles
Oldfield Primary School
Green Lane, Vicars Cross, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 5LB
1.8 miles
St Clare's Catholic Primary School
Hawthorn Road, Lache, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 8HX
1.82 miles
Name Distance
Abbey School for Exceptional Children
10-12 Abbey Square, Chester, CH1 2HU
0.45 miles
The Queen's School
City Walls Road, Chester, CH1 2NN
0.49 miles
Chester International School
Queens Park Campus, Queens Park Road, Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 7AE
0.98 miles
Queen's Park High School
Queens Park Road, Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 7AE
1.05 miles
Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College
Wealstone Lane, Upton, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1HD
1.15 miles
Maple Grove School
Clare Avenue, Chester, CH2 3HR
1.26 miles
The Catholic High School, Chester
Old Wrexham Road, Handbridge, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 7HS
1.42 miles
Upton-by-Chester High School
St James Avenue, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 1NN
1.58 miles
The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School
Vaughans Lane, Great Boughton, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 5XF
1.59 miles
Dee Banks School
Dee Banks, Sandy Lane, Deebanks School, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 5UX
1.59 miles
Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College
Melbourne Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5JH
1.62 miles
The Hammond
Mannings Lane, Chester, CH2 4ES
2.08 miles
The King's School
Wrexham Road, Chester, CH4 7QL
2.09 miles
Christleton High School
Village Road, Christleton, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 7AD
2.84 miles
Abbey Gate College
Saighton Grange, Chester, CH3 6EN
4.19 miles
The Whitby High School
Sycamore Drive, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH66 2NU
4.56 miles
iMap Centre
Unit 4a Barrowmore Estates, Barnhouse Lane, Great Barrow, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 7JA
4.66 miles
Archers Brook SEMH School
Chester Road, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH66 2NA
4.91 miles

All schools in Chester · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School have?

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School has 369 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School cover?

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School?

Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School is at Walpole Street, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 4HG.

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