School Chooser

Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic207 pupilsLoughboroughLeicestershire
School Chooser Score
56
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 30 to 78
Out of 100. Better than 29% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, March 2022
Reached the expected level at 1158%England 63%
Attendance96.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families17%Far fewer than most schools
Places3 spare207 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher24.6School workforce census

Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough is a converter academy in Loughborough for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 207 pupils and room for 210. About 17 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 56 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 29% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Hastings Street, Loughborough, LE11 5AX01509 212621stmarys-rc.leics.sch.ukMiss Priscilla Jordan headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 30 March 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

24 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1158%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level8%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 45%45%20172018: 41%41%20182019: 69%69%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 57%57%20242025: 58%58%2025
Since 2017: +13%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017LeicestershireEngland
Pupils tested243028292922
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths58%57%68%69%41%45%63%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%10%11%10%3%5%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0103.0105.0104.0103.0103.0105.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0104.0105.0104.0101.0102.0104.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0106.0107.0107.0106.0103.0105.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard71%63%82%76%69%59%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard67%73%79%76%59%64%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)71%70%79%76%72%59%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.3-0.6-0.9+0.4
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.6-0.6-3.0-1.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged38%22%67%25%43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged69%71%68%48%47%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
38%69%
Gap 31 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
45%69%
Gap 24 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
64%58%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%8%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Nearly full202 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
96% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Leicestershire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll207Census January 2026
Places21099% full
Pupils from low-income families17%17% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English47%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support16%32 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.67 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils57%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)17%£54,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls100 / 107
White British pupils30%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 31.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (16), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), Severe learning difficulty (4), emotional and mental health (4), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3), Specific learning difficulty (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll207200201195197195
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals17%20%22%23%16%12%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language47%43%41%42%46%47%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support15%23%19%15%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.4%5.4%6.3%4.7%4.0%3.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.4%4.1%4.5%3.6%3.5%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.0%1.2%1.8%1.1%0.5%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.2%14.8%21.5%8.8%10.5%5.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.54.02.19.12.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.4full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher24.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,381
Teachers who left in the year26%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher13.22024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,815England £7,128. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£6,935England £7,587. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,965England £3,405
Money in reserve-9%In the red: -£125k, -£627 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£24kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,815spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1,08412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate179 per 1,000 people97% higher than the England average
Typical house price£275,000Charnwood
Nearest bus stop80 mRadmoor Road, 22 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Loughborough Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy470 m150Good 202343Compare
Rendell Primary SchoolAcademy940 m436Good 202376Compare
Cobden Primary School & Community CentreAcademy990 m400No overall grade 20252Compare
Mountfields Lodge SchoolAcademy0.7 miles468Good 202217Compare
Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary AcademyAcademy0.9 miles203Not inspected92Compare
Thorpe Acre Infant SchoolCouncil0.9 miles123Good 202331Compare
Robert Bakewell Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles307Good 20227Compare
Thorpe Acre Junior SchoolCouncil1.0 miles196Good 202333Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats29%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 56 is 11 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 5 · middle 67 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 56 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 56% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 30 to 78. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
+0.00
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 24 pupils
Ofsted inspection16% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 4.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.13
DfE progress measure; 24 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.09
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.09
2024/25; 183 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.08
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 24 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough a good school?

It is about average. Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough scores 56 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 29% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 30 to 78, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough good at its last full inspection on 30 March 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 58% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 8% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough have?

207 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 99% full.

Is Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough?

Pupils were in school 96.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough?

The average class had 29.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 57% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Hastings Street, Loughborough, LE11 5AX
Telephone
01509 212621
Website
www.stmarys-rc.leics.sch.uk
Headteacher
Miss Priscilla Jordan
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Nottingham
Multi-academy trust
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust (23 schools)
Local authority
Leicestershire
Ward
Loughborough Storer
Constituency
Loughborough
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 July 2012 (academy converter)
URN
138295 · LAESTAB 8553433 · UKPRN 10037749
Formerly
Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School, Loughborough

Where these figures come from