1
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 4HT
1
25 Jun 2024
Top 10 Primary schools in Lancaster
Updated for the latest inspections (median graded year: 2021)
This Top 10 showcases primary schools in the town of Lancaster. It’s built from the latest graded Ofsted inspections. We rank Outstanding (grade 1) above Good (grade 2), then prioritise newer inspections. As tie-breakers, we consider the “Quality of education” sub-judgement (where available), then %FSM and school size.
Total primary schools
26
Outstanding
1
Good
20
Median inspection year
2021
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
O: 4% · G: 80% · RI: 12% · I: 4%
2
Cawthorne's Endowed School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA2 9BQ
2
29 Apr 2024
3
Dolphinholme Church of England Primary School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA2 9AN
2
24 Apr 2024
4
Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary and Nursery School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 4SE
2
30 Jan 2024
5
Bentham Community Primary School
LANCASTER • Lancashire • LA2 7BP
2
19 Jan 2023
6
Lancaster Dallas Road Community Primary School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 1LD
2
3 Aug 2022
7
Skerton St Luke's Church of England Primary School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 2JH
2
30 Jun 2022
8
Lancaster Ryelands Primary School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 2RJ
2
28 Apr 2022
9
Bowerham Primary & Nursery School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 4BS
2
7 Jan 2022
10
Willow Lane Community Primary School
Lancaster • Lancashire • LA1 5PR
2
28 May 2020
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade: Outstanding (1) outranks Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- Lower free school meals (%) may break remaining ties.
- Larger roll (pupil count) is a final tie-breaker.
Only the ten highest-ranked schools are shown; we also list “near misses” just below.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1): Highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2): Strong effectiveness; meets standards consistently.
- Requires improvement (3): Not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4): Significant weaknesses found.
Ungraded Section 8 visits check whether the previous graded judgement still stands, but they don’t replace it.
Data freshness & coverage
We refresh inspections and school snapshots regularly. If a school was inspected very recently, its report may not yet appear here.
Top-10 pages only appear for areas with at least 10 primary schools that have a graded Ofsted inspection.
Map of the Top 10
Also highly rated nearby
- Caton Primary School 2 • Jun 2019
- Austwick Church of England VA Primary School 2 • Jun 2019
- Quernmore Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 2 • Apr 2019
- Tatham Fells Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School 2 • Dec 2018
- Moorside Primary School 2 • May 2018
- The Cathedral Catholic Primary School, Lancaster 2 • May 2016
- Wray with Botton Endowed Primary School 2 • Mar 2015
- Ellel St John the Evangelist Church of England Primary School 2 • Feb 2013
- Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School 2 • Dec 2012
- Slyne-with-Hest, St Luke's, Church of England Primary School 2 • Jul 2012