“Excellent school, all the staff - teachers are amazing, they go above and beyond.  I know my child is safe and well cared for at the school.  Warm, friendly atmosphere.  My child loves coming to school - never any issues not wanting to come!”

“I am so happy how my child is at this school, she is thriving and can see a difference in how she was in her old school - thank you!”

Parents' Questionnaire comments, Autumn 2023.

Balshaw Lane Primary School is a community primary school in Euxton, near Chorley, Lancashire.

We are located on Balshaw Lane with access to the school via Bredon Avenue.

We take up to 60 pupils into Reception each year in two straight-age classes.

The school was opened in 1976 and is situated on a pleasant, open site with playing fields and two playgrounds.

We are proud to be members of the Euxton community.

Aspirational Futures multi-academy trust

Our school has entered a new, exciting chapter.

We are a founding school within Aspirational Futures multi-academy trust (MAT) with Parklands High and Gillibrand Primary School.

Our children have higher priority admission to Parklands, if parents want it.

(The criteria for our pupils is above the distance criteria for Parklands.)

The MAT will provide increased opportunities for improved transition and collaboration.

A growing school

Balshaw Lane is an Outstanding school as judged by Ofsted and very popular in the local area. 

For these reasons, the school was asked by the local authority to expand in order to enable more pupils to attend.

We currently have 390 pupils on roll and will be growing to 420 (two-form entry) by September 2024.

As part of the expansion project, we were delighted to have our facilities developed and improved with new classrooms, small group rooms, an expanded hall, new children's toilets and enhanced outdoor areas. In particular, the children love our multi-use games area which is great for all weathers.

Although our school is growing in size, we have still retained our family, welcoming feeling and there is a great community atmosphere. 

“Excellent school, trying hard to retain its personal nature despite the growth.”

“A well run school with an outstanding personal touch given the size of the school - highly commended.”

“Always striving to make improvements to school facilities.”

Parents' Questionnaire comments, Autumn 2023.

We are an accessible school with a ramp at the front door and all rooms on one level.

Our classrooms

There are 6 classes in the infants and 8 in KS2 with intervention rooms nearby for support group work.

The Reception classrooms have their own Early Years play area and are located near the infants' playground and field. These classrooms are set out for continuous provision for the Early Years learning areas. They are engaging classrooms with cosy corners for reading; role play scenarios and creative areas. 

The Year 1 classrooms are located next to the Reception classrooms which aids the children's smooth transition at the end of their first year. These classrooms are set up for increasing independent work but also for transitional continuous provision in the early autumn term.

The Year 2 classrooms are in the centre of the school building so the children exit via the KS2 playground at the end of the day. The Y2 classrooms were refurbished as part of the expansion project so they look similar in decor to the KS2 classrooms.

The Key Stage 2 (KS2: Years 3-6) classrooms are in the expansion part of the building.

They are modern, airy and welcoming. They are decorated in a neutral palette so that displays of children's work or working walls are the focus.

All classrooms have external doors, good ventilation, a sink area and most have integral cloakrooms.

The outdoor area

We are fortunate to have fantastic outdoor spaces. At the front of school, there is the KS2 playground with picnic benches; the garden area and the multi-use games area.

We also have our own pond area for science and nature studies and a gazebo for outdoor learning

At the rear of school, there is a separate infants' playground; the Early Years play area and a large field.

The school backs onto Euxton Cricket Club so there is a real feeling of space around the school with lots of trees around the field.

Library

We have a welcoming, well-stocked library with a great selection of fiction and non-fiction books.

Each classroom also has its own class library for high quality texts.

ICT facilities

The classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards and a teacher's PC.

We have several suites of laptops and iPads which we use flexibly across the curriculum and for discrete computing lessons.

We also use Beebots and datalogging equipment as part of our teaching.

Music facilities

Music is a strength of the school as we have our own music specialist who teaches across school.

We invest in a wide range of percussion instruments with which the children become very competent. They are taught to compose using a variety of notation and to play confidently. 

The Year 3 children are taught to play the ocarina each year. By the end of KS2, the children have also learnt to play the glockenspiel.

Individual music tuition is offered in keyboard, guitar, woodwind and drums.

Sport facilities

It is great to have the outdoor space for sport, especially the MUGA for use in damper weather.

We also have a large hall for indoor PE and games.

We have a wide range of PE equipment and have invested in this over the years.

Extra-curricular PE clubs take place in the hall and/or outdoors. These include judo, tae kwondo, athletics, fencing, dance, yoga.

The hall

As well as for PE and clubs, we use the hall for assemblies and lunchtimes. 

We have our Breakfast Club in the hall each morning from 8.30am.

School kitchen

We have our own kitchen which prepares fresh meals each day.

The catering staff are employed by Lancashire local authority.

We have a large uptake for our tasty meals.

Nearly all infants have the Universal Free School Meals and many KS2 children have paid school meals.

Children on school meals can sit with children with packed lunches.

“Lovely school, my child loves coming in every day and their learning is coming on well.”

“Strong community feel and a fun, safe environment.”

 "Well equipped classrooms.”           

 “Facilities are good.”          

Parents' Questionnaire comments, Autumn 2023.

Time Out club at Yarrow Nursery

Yarrow nursery is situated in our school grounds.

It offers a breakfast club and after-school club for our children.

Please contact 01257 262070 for more information.