School Chooser

St Mary's Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCatholic maintainedRoman Catholic155 pupilsPortaferryArds and North Down
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredNorthern Ireland doesn't publish inspection grades or progress figures, so we can't give its schools a score. Pupil numbers, free school meals, special needs and attendance are below.
Pupils with special needs27%NI 20%
Attendance92.2%NI 94.0%
Pupils from low-income families19%A bit fewer than most schools
Pupils on roll155Census October 2025

St Mary's Primary School is a catholic maintained school in Portaferry for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 155 pupils. About 19 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools.

58 Windmill Hill, Portaferry, BT22 1RHAll details

Inspection

Schools in Northern Ireland are inspected by the Education and Training Inspectorate. Since 2024 its reports end with a written summary and next steps instead of a grade, and there is no published list of outcomes.

Find this school's ETI reports

Results

Northern Ireland publishes no results for individual primary schools, so there are none to show. Enrolment, free school meals, special needs and attendance are below.

Getting a place

There is no entrance test. When more children apply than there are places, the school's published rules decide, usually brothers and sisters first, then parish or feeder links, then whoever lives closest.

As a Catholic school it may put baptised Catholic children first.

Apply through the Education Authority's online admissions system in January.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll155Census October 2025
Pupils entitled to free school meals19%29 pupils; NI 26%
Pupils with special educational needs27%16 with a statement; NI 20%
Newcomer pupils0%arrived with little English; NI 8%
Catholic pupils94%as recorded in the school census; NI 45%
Boys and girls80 / 75

Attendance

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.2% of the time. Across similar schools in Northern Ireland it was 94.0%. Northern Ireland doesn't publish figures on pupils who miss a lot of school, or on suspensions, for individual schools.

Attendance92.2%
Northern Ireland 94.0%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Missed without permission2.1%of school time; NI 2.5%

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Portaferry Integrated Primary SchoolIntegrated420 m76ETI, no open data–Compare
St Joseph's Primary SchoolCatholic maintained0.9 miles69ETI, no open data–Compare
St Patrick's Primary School, BallygalgetCatholic maintained2.7 miles101ETI, no open data–Compare
St Malachy's Primary School, KilcliefCatholic maintained3.8 miles35ETI, no open data–Compare
St Mary's Primary SchoolCatholic maintained4.6 miles90ETI, no open data–Compare
Killyleagh Integrated Primary School, DownpatrickIntegrated5.0 miles112ETI, no open data–Compare
Primary schools in Ards and North DownPrimary schools in Portaferry

Questions parents ask

Is St Mary's Primary School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score St Mary's Primary School yet. Northern Ireland doesn't publish inspection grades.

How many pupils does St Mary's Primary School have?

155 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in October 2025.

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

Contact and details

Address
58 Windmill Hill, Portaferry, BT22 1RH
Type of school
Catholic maintained school (Catholic Maintained school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Local authority
Ards and North Down
Ward
Portaferry
Setting
Rural
DE reference
4036530 · LAESTAB 4036530
Official recordGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from