School Chooser

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman CatholicDorkingSurrey
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, March 2023
Reached the expected level at 1165%England 63%
Attendance94.5%England 94.8%

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Dorking for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Norfolk Road, Dorking, RH4 3JA01306 883934stjosephsschooldorking.co.ukMrs Lize Claassen headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 29 March 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

26 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1165%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level27%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 81%81%20172018: 77%77%20182019: 85%85%20192023: 73%73%20232024: 50%50%20242025: 65%65%2025
Since 2017: -16%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†2017†SurreyEngland
Pupils tested262426272626
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths65%50%73%85%77%81%67%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths27%8%19%26%12%27%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0106.0108.0108.0110.0108.0107.0105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0104.0107.0109.0106.0107.0105.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score110.0110.0110.0111.0112.0110.0106.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard81%71%85%89%88%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard85%67%88%96%88%85%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)88%83%77%89%85%85%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.0+2.7+2.9+1.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.7+3.2+0.2-0.3

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 Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in July 2026. 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. 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 11Boys vs girls
54%77%
Gap 23 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
43%65%
Gap 22 ptsEngland 4 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

Open to all. There is no entrance test. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (24 offers for 27 places).

EntryPlacesGot a placeHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary2724all offeredLA
2025 Primary2714all offeredLA
2024 Primary2713all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll
Places189
Pupils from low-income families7%7% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English41%First language is not English
White British pupils48%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Missed without permission2.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25†2023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.5%5.2%5.4%5.3%2.3%3.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.6%3.3%3.6%3.8%1.7%2.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.0%1.9%1.8%1.5%0.7%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.2%14.4%13.4%13.9%5.7%5.6%12.8%

† These attendance figures are for St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in July 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Money

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,395England £7,738. Total £1.1m
Income per pupil£6,335England £7,697. Total £1.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,583England £3,480
Money in reserve8%A healthy amount put by: £90k, £528 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£10kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,395spent 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 m32412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate84 per 1,000 people7% lower than the England average
Typical house price£580,000Mole Valley
Nearest bus stop120 mVincent Lane, 9 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
St Paul's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy580 m397Good 202461Compare
Powell Corderoy Primary SchoolAcademy650 m196Good 202264Compare
St Martin's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy940 m364Not inspected92Compare
St John's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles210Good 20216Compare
Surrey Hills All Saints Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles125No overall grade 202557Compare
North Downs Primary SchoolAcademy2.3 miles383Good 2023Compare
Polesden Lacey Infant AcademyAcademy3.3 miles94Good 2023Compare
Great Bookham SchoolAcademy3.8 miles335No overall grade 202596Compare

Questions parents ask

Is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School a good school?

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in March 2023.

What is St Joseph's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Joseph's Catholic Primary School good at its last full inspection on 29 March 2023.

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

In summer 2025, 65% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 27% went further and reached the higher level.

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

The number of pupils is not published.

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

Pupils were in school 94.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

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

Contact and details

Address
Norfolk Road, Dorking, RH4 3JA
Telephone
01306 883934
Website
www.stjosephsschooldorking.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Lize Claassen
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
Multi-academy trust
Xavier Catholic Education Trust (23 schools)
Local authority
Surrey
Ward
Dorking North
Constituency
Dorking and Horley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 July 2026 (academy converter)
URN
152534 · LAESTAB 9363422 · UKPRN 10100673
Formerly
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from