School Chooser

St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyChurch of England151 pupilsLondonLewisham
School Chooser Score
88
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 68 to 96, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, May 2023
Reached the expected level at 1183%England 63%
Attendance96.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families39%Far more than most schools
Places59 spare151 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher18.9School workforce census

St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School is a converter academy in London for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 151 pupils and room for 210. About 39 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 88 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

St James's, New Cross, London, SE14 6AD020 8692 4937st-jameshatcham.lewisham.sch.ukMs S E McFarlane headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 5 May 2023 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.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1183%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level10%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
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: 43%43%20172018: 84%84%20182019: 88%88%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 59%59%20242025: 83%83%2025
Since 2017: +40%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024†2023†2019†2018†2017†LewishamEngland
Pupils tested292228251928
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths83%59%68%88%84%43%69%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths10%14%11%12%11%4%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0103.0105.0107.0105.0100.0106.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0104.0106.0109.0107.0104.0105.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0106.0107.0112.0112.0107.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard90%73%82%96%89%61%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard93%77%93%96%84%64%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)90%73%71%88%84%75%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.2+2.1-0.8-5.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.8+3.2+1.6-1.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged86%38%63%75%89%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged80%71%75%100%80%57%

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 James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. 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. 3 of the 4 gaps are 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
86%80%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
50%95%
Gap 45 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
83%83%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
14%10%
Gap 4 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 Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places155 pupils for 202 places, 2024/25
77% full

47 places were empty (23% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.

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 Lewisham 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 roll151Census January 2026
Places21072% full
Pupils from low-income families39%39% 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%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan8%12 pupils with a plan
Average class size16.76 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)36%£77,500 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls77 / 74
White British pupils3%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 20.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 17.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (19), Autistic spectrum disorder (10), emotional and mental health (4), Moderate learning difficulty (1), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025
Pupils on roll151156
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals39%40%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language47%48%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%

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 school5.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.4%3.8%5.1%5.3%2.3%3.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.6%2.7%3.6%3.5%1.9%2.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%1.1%1.5%1.8%0.4%0.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.4%9.2%16.1%17.2%5.6%9.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0

† These attendance figures are for St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. 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.

Teachers8.0full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher18.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.3full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£63,509
Teachers who left in the year34%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.22024/25

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£10,397England £7,128. Total £1.6m
Income per pupil£10,224England £7,587. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,936England £3,405
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £68k, £436 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£27kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£10,397spent 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 m1,31712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate133 per 1,000 people47% higher than the England average
Typical house price£470,000Lewisham
Nearest bus stop120 mNew Cross Gate Station, 28 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
Childeric Primary SchoolAcademy290 m334Good 202370Compare
Myatt Garden Primary SchoolCouncil650 m357Not inspected89Compare
Oak Gardens Primary SchoolCouncil750 m166Good 202349Compare
Haberdashers' Hatcham PrimaryAcademy810 m395Good 202390Compare
Edmund Waller Primary SchoolCouncil830 m434Good 202380Compare
Haberdashers' Hatcham Free SchoolFree school860 m410No overall grade 202599Compare
Kender Primary SchoolCouncil880 m351No overall grade 202550Compare
Grinling Gibbons Primary SchoolCouncil990 m208Good 202232Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St James's Hatcham Church of England 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.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 88 is 51 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 36 · highest 95100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Holy Trinity CofE Primary SchoolAcademy8.1 miles195Outstanding 202293Compare
Miles Coverdale Primary SchoolCouncil8.5 miles197Outstanding 202495Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 88 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 88% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 68 to 96. 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
+0.05
2025 results; 29 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.4 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.29
Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 29 pupils
Direction of travel over five years0%no data
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.11
2024/25; 147 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.14
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 29 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 James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School scores 88 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 68 to 96, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School good at its last full inspection on 5 May 2023.

How good are St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 83% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 10% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School have?

151 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 72% full.

Is St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 47 places were empty in 2024/25 (23% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School?

The average class had 16.7 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
St James's, New Cross, London, SE14 6AD
Telephone
020 8692 4937
Website
www.st-jameshatcham.lewisham.sch.uk
Headteacher
Ms S E McFarlane
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Southwark
Multi-academy trust
Sdbe Multi-Academy Trust (14 schools)
Local authority
Lewisham
Ward
Brockley
Constituency
Lewisham North
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2024 (academy converter)
URN
151009 · LAESTAB 2093454 · UKPRN 10095744
Formerly
St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School

Where these figures come from