St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston is a converter academy in Preston for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 44 pupils and room for 54. About 41 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.
St Mary's Road, Great Eccleston, Preston, PR3 0ZJ01995 670364st-marysgreateccleston.lancs.sch.ukMrs Jennifer Birch headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
8 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 8 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | – | 50% | 100% | 100% | – | 61% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 25% | – | 0% | 17% | 0% | – | 8% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | 103.0 | – | 107.0 | 108.0 | 105.0 | – | 105.2 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | 104.0 | – | 102.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 | – | 104.2 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | 105.0 | – | 105.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 | – | 104.9 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 63% | – | 88% | 100% | 100% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 75% | – | 75% | 100% | 100% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 63% | – | 50% | 100% | 100% | – | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | +2.1 | – | +0.3 | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -1.7 | – | +3.1 | – | – | – |
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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston, the school this one replaced in September 2022. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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.
10 places were empty (18% 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 Lancashire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 3.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 9.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (5), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Physical disability (1), emotional and mental health (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 44 | 47 | 49 | 53 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 41% | 32% | 31% | 25% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 2% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 19% | 12% | 13% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 3.3% | 4.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.0% | 4.3% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 3.3% | 4.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 18.2% | 13.3% | 13.3% | 17.8% | 10.4% | 20.0% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 4.3 | 6.1 | 0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston, the school this one replaced in September 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.
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.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Anne's Copp CofE Primary School, Great Eccleston | Church of England | 0.6 miles | 166 | Good 2023 | 53 | Compare |
| St Michael's-On-Wyre Church of England Primary School & Nursery | Church of England | 1.9 miles | 112 | Good 2023 | 53 | Compare |
| Inskip St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Aided School | Church of England | 2.2 miles | 60 | Good 2022 | 59 | Compare |
| Singleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | Church of England | 3.1 miles | 100 | Good 2024 | 81 | Compare |
| Treales Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 3.5 miles | 67 | Report card 2026 | 7 | Compare |
| Hambleton Primary Academy | Academy | 3.6 miles | 247 | No overall grade 2024 | 94 | Compare |
| Nateby Primary School | Council | 3.6 miles | 87 | Good 2023 | 74 | Compare |
| Weeton Primary School | Council | 3.8 miles | 163 | Good 2024 | 78 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston yet.
How good are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 63% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 25% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston have?
44 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 54 places, so it is 81% full.
Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston oversubscribed?
Probably not. 10 places were empty in 2024/25 (18% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston?
Pupils were in school 94.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston?
The average class had 5.8 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 Mary's Road, Great Eccleston, Preston, PR3 0ZJ
- Telephone
- 01995 670364
- Website
- www.st-marysgreateccleston.lancs.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jennifer Birch
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Diocese of Lancaster
- Multi-academy trust
- The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust (20 schools)
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward
- Great Eccleston
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2022 (academy converter)
- URN
- 149264 · LAESTAB 8883712 · UKPRN 10090962
- Formerly
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Great Eccleston
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.