School Chooser

St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic472 pupilsNurseryWolverhampton
School Chooser Score
86
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 75 to 92, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, January 2023
Reached the expected level at 1178%England 63%
Attendance96.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families39%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull472 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher20.5School workforce census

St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy is a converter academy in Wolverhampton for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 472 pupils, 52 more than it has places for. About 39 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 86 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Cannock Road, Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, WV10 8PG01902 308870stmaryscpa.co.ukMrs Victoria Minihane headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 25 January 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

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

Reached the expected level at 1178%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level19%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 53%53%20172018: 80%80%20182019: 62%62%20192023: 66%66%20232024: 67%67%20242025: 78%78%2025
Since 2017: +25%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017WolverhamptonEngland
Pupils tested645762554943
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths78%67%66%62%80%53%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths19%5%10%9%16%5%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0105.0106.0104.0108.0100.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0104.0105.0104.0107.0103.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0107.0108.0107.0112.0106.0105.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard88%81%71%69%88%58%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard86%77%73%64%86%74%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)89%72%85%73%86%86%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.5+0.4+4.9-0.3
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.6-1.3+4.0+1.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged74%66%55%39%88%44%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged86%68%73%78%75%69%

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. 2 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
74%86%
Gap 12 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
76%81%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
84%78%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
14%19%
Gap 5 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.

Full437 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
104% full

The school is full, with 17 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. 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 Wolverhampton 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 roll472Census January 2026
Places420112% full
Pupils from low-income families36%39% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English29%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support13%62 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%11 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.416 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils38%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)38%£255,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls244 / 228
White British pupils26%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 31.4 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (24), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (23), emotional and mental health (16), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Physical disability (2), Vision impairment (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll472492486469484475
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals36%37%38%39%38%36%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language29%31%32%34%34%35%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%15%13%11%11%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school7.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.92024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.8%4.4%5.4%5.2%3.0%4.3%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.9%3.2%3.9%3.9%2.0%3.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%1.1%1.5%1.3%1.0%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence7.5%11.9%19.1%14.3%6.9%9.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.91.41.51.91.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00101

Staff and money

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

Teachers22.2full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher20.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants18.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,108
Teachers who left in the year7%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.32024/25

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£6,102England £7,128. Total £2.9m
Income per pupil£6,053England £7,587. Total £2.8m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,021England £3,405
Money in reserve13%A healthy amount put by: £367k, £781 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£23kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,102spent 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 m23812 months to June 2026, mostly shoplifting
Local crime rate76 per 1,000 people16% lower than the England average
Typical house price£217,500Wolverhampton

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
Fallings Park Primary SchoolAcademy430 m685Good 2022Compare
D'Eyncourt Primary SchoolAcademy530 m302Good 202253Compare
Wodensfield Primary SchoolCouncil1000 m457No overall grade 202449Compare
Whitgreave Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles442Outstanding 202396Compare
Long Knowle Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles212Not inspected78Compare
Bushbury Hill Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles243Report card 202610Compare
Trinity CofE Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles700Good 202344Compare
Berrybrook Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles214Good 202220Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats88%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 86 is 42 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 44 · highest 95100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 86 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 86% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 75 to 92. 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%above
+0.09
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 64 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.15
DfE progress measure; 64 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.11
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.08
2024/25; 385 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.11
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 64 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 Mary's Catholic Primary Academy a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy scores 86 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 75 to 92, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 25 January 2023.

How good are St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 78% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 19% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy have?

472 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 112% full.

Is St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 17 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 96.2% 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy?

The average class had 28.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 38% 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
Cannock Road, Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, WV10 8PG
Telephone
01902 308870
Website
www.stmaryscpa.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Victoria Minihane
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Birmingham
Multi-academy trust
St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (64 schools)
Local authority
Wolverhampton
Ward
Fallings Park
Constituency
Wolverhampton North East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 March 2015 (academy converter)
URN
141827 · LAESTAB 3363304 · UKPRN 10048885
Formerly
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Wolverhampton

Where these figures come from