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West Didsbury CE Primary School

Primary · Manchester · M20 4ZA

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 19 July 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

402 pupils · 96% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
13.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
23.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.thrive-wdce.com
URN
141967

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 71 families named it first for 60 Reception places, 1.18 first choices per place. We hold 5 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2015 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 19 July 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.18 first-choice applications per place

60 places offered · 71 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

59 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
73%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
17%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
109
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
109
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school73%
Median of its 12 closest peers66.5%
Manchester average59.6%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Oakhurst Community Primary SchoolSwindon · 127 miles awayExpected standard72%
Stukeley Meadows Primary SchoolHuntingdon · 114 miles awayGood (2016)38%
Rivelin Primary SchoolSheffield · 30 miles awayGood66%
St Thomas More Catholic Primary SchoolBexleyheath · 168 miles awayOutstanding84%
Twickenham Primary AcademyTwickenham · 159 miles awayOutstanding (2018)68%
Ardley Hill AcademyDunstable · 129 miles awayGood60%
Walker Primary SchoolLondon · 153 miles awayGood85%
Histon and Impington Park Primary SchoolCambridge · 127 miles awayOutstanding85%
Kempston Rural Primary SchoolKempston · 116 miles awayGood67%
Ursula Taylor Church of England SchoolBedford · 114 miles awayOutstanding35%
Braiswick Primary SchoolColchester · 168 miles awayGood66%
Woodley CofE Primary SchoolReading · 148 miles awayGood63%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 51% (Manchester 29%, England 60%) · Any other White background 8% (Manchester 5%, England 7%) · Asian Pakistani 8% (Manchester 17%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 6% (Manchester 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 6% (Manchester 9%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Manchester 4%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 4% (Manchester 4%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Manchester 2%, England 2%) · Black African 2% (Manchester 13%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Manchester 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Manchester 2%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Manchester 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (Manchester 1%, England 1%) · White Irish 1% (Manchester 0%, England 0%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Manchester 2%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 1% (Manchester 3%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
8.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.49 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Manchester: 2.24 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
26.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 11% moved to another state school · 9% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

68.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £49,746; 5.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£5,718
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 7% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (2%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £137,000; in-year balance +£533,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher67.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications5.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work50.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways12.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health61.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier34.5%62.3%
Social housing5.9%17.1%
Privately rented59.7%20.5%
Detached houses3.3%22.9%
Flats62.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms25.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van35.4%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01005275 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£315,000910 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£234,000–£490,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (42)£807,500
Semi-detached (182)£514,000
Terraced (209)£475,000
Flat (477)£240,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
19an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
9an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools