School Chooser

St Bernard's Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic201 pupilsBristolBristol, City of
School Chooser Score
70
Above
similar schools
Likely range 41 to 88, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 70% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1170%England 63%
Attendance95.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families26%About the same as most schools in England
Places9 spare201 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher22.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll201Census January 2026

St Bernard's Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Bristol for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 201 pupils and room for 210. About 26 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 70 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it.

Station Road, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 9TU0117 903 0352stbernardsprimary.co.ukMr Richard Jordan headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1170%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 59%59%20172018: 57%57%20182019: 76%76%20192023: 55%55%20232024: 60%60%20242025: 70%70%2025
Since 2017: +11%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†Bristol, City ofEngland
Pupils tested303029293022
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths70%60%55%76%57%59%59%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%7%0%17%3%9%5%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0105.0107.0107.0105.0103.0105.1105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0103.0107.0104.0104.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0103.0105.0110.0106.0108.0104.1105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard80%73%76%90%80%68%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%70%76%86%73%73%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)80%77%62%83%73%73%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.1+2.4+2.7-0.3
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.4+1.6+2.6+1.0
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged50%29%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged77%70%

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.

† These results are for St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2022. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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. 1 of the 4 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
50%77%
Gap 27 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
59%85%
Gap 26 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
70%70%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%7%
Gap 7 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 full206 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
98% 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.

How places were given out for September 2025.

EntryApplied at allGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2025 Primary7029LA

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 roll201Census January 2026
Places21096% full
Pupils from low-income families26%26% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English29%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support14%28 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.77 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)24%£74,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls104 / 97
White British pupils59%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (12), emotional and mental health (8), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census2026202520242023
Pupils on roll201205205201
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals26%24%22%19%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language29%31%31%32%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%15%14%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%0%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.8%5.1%5.7%5.4%3.8%3.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.6%4.1%4.9%4.6%3.4%2.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.2%1.0%0.9%0.8%0.3%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.6%10.3%17.4%11.8%8.0%6.2%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.40.50.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions000

† These attendance figures are for St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in March 2022. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers9.0full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher22.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,882
Teachers who left in the year22%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.22024/25

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£5,829England £7,128. Total £1.2m
Income per pupil£6,507England £7,587. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,010England £3,405
Money in reserve15%A healthy amount put by: £200k, £978 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£139kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,829spent 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 m45412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate125 per 1,000 people38% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop40 mPembroke Avenue, 24 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
Shirehampton Primary SchoolCouncil470 m460Good 202311Compare
Nova Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles200Good 2022Compare
Oasis Academy Long CrossAcademy0.8 miles521Report card 20266Compare
Avonmouth Church of England Primary School and NurseryChurch of England0.8 miles206Good 20237Compare
Crockerne Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles299Good 202312Compare
Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, BristolRoman Catholic1.0 miles208Good 202364Compare
Sea Mills Primary School and NurseryAcademy1.1 miles244Good 2023Compare
Stoke Bishop Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.6 miles412Report card 202687Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Bernard's Catholic Primary School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats70%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 70 is 24 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 5 · middle 46 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 70 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 70% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 41 to 88. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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; 30 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%in line
+0.03
DfE progress measure; 30 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.17
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.03
2024/25; 181 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.01
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 30 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 St Bernard's Catholic Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Bernard's Catholic Primary School scores 70 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 70% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 41 to 88, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

How good are St Bernard's Catholic Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 70% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Bernard's Catholic Primary School have?

201 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 96% full.

Is St Bernard's Catholic Primary School oversubscribed?

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

What is attendance like at St Bernard's Catholic Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Bernard's Catholic Primary School?

The average class had 28.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
Station Road, Shirehampton, Bristol, BS11 9TU
Telephone
0117 903 0352
Website
stbernardsprimary.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Richard Jordan
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Clifton
Multi-academy trust
The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust (7 schools)
Local authority
Bristol, City of
Ward
Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston
Constituency
Bristol North West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2022 (academy converter)
URN
148942 · LAESTAB 8013403 · UKPRN 10090065
Formerly
St Bernard's Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from