St James' CofE Primary School, Birch-in-Rusholme

School overview

St James' CofE Primary School, Birch-in-Rusholme is a primary school serving Manchester, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Church of England religious character. It has 215 pupils aged 3 to 11 on roll. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — above the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 1.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 25% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 109 in reading and 107 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 11% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Competition for places is real here - 91% of first-choice applicants were offered a Reception place for September 2026 (33 first choices for 30 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 0.62 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. Overall pupil absence was 5.5%. There are about 14.5 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 45% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. St James' CofE Primary School, Birch-in-Rusholme does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.