Primary school in Northwich, Cheshire West and Chester
Charles Darwin Community Primary School
Darwin Street, Castle, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 1BN
Ofsted
Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 13 January 2026.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is in the top quarter of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the top quarter.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 331
- Places
- 342
- How full
- Nearly full — 331 of 342 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 156 / 175
- Overall absence
- 5%
- Persistently absent
- 13%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 27%
- English as an additional language
- 16%
- With an EHC plan
- 4%
- On SEN support
- 14%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Cheshire West and Chester 020A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 26%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 15%
- Households owning their home
- 54%
- Households in social housing
- 7%
- Households with no car
- 19%
- Adults economically inactive
- 30%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Marianne Bennett
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Ward
- Northwich Winnington & Castle
- Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
- URN
- 111053
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnington Park Community Primary and Nursery SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 56% | 0.3 mi |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2022 | 62% | 0.5 mi |
| Kingsmead Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 66% | 0.7 mi |
| Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 35% | 0.8 mi |
| Hartford Manor Primary School & NurseryCommunity school | Good 2023 | 77% | 0.8 mi |
| Victoria Road Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 77% | 1 mi |
| Leftwich Community Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 56% | 1.2 mi |
| Hartford Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2021 | 73% | 1.3 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Millfields Community SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 69% |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 59% |
| Christ Church CofE SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2023 | 71% |
| Beatrix Potter Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 71% |
| Manor Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 64% |
| John Perry Primary SchoolCommunity school | Good 2024 | 72% |
| Fryent Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 51% |
| Islamia Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 75% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.