School Chooser

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic210 pupilsSutton ColdfieldBirmingham
School Chooser Score
75
Above
similar schools
Likely range 53 to 88, so it could be “well above”
Out of 100. Better than 25% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, March 2023
Reached the expected level at 1160%England 63%
Attendance96.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families4%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull210 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher31.8School workforce census

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Sutton Coldfield for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 210 pupils and every place is taken. About 4 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 75 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Jockey Road, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5US0121 355 2649stnicholassutton.org.ukMr Neil Porter headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 13 March 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1160%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 90%90%20172018: 83%83%20182019: 83%83%20192023: 74%74%20232024: 67%67%20242025: 60%60%2025
Since 2017: -30%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017BirminghamEngland
Pupils tested303031303030
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths60%67%74%83%83%90%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%10%23%17%17%23%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0105.0110.0111.0110.0111.0105.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0105.0108.0110.0108.0109.0104.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0105.0108.0110.0111.0111.0106.5105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard90%77%97%90%97%93%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%80%90%100%87%100%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)60%77%74%87%90%93%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.4+3.0+0.7+1.9
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.5+1.5-0.7+0.3
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged43%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged74%

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. 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
53%69%
Gap 16 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.

Full211 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
101% full

The school is full, with 1 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 Birmingham 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 roll210Census January 2026
Places210100% full
Pupils from low-income families4%4% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan1%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size30.07 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)6%£20,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls114 / 96
White British pupils76%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (8), language and communications needs (6), Physical disability (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (4), Severe learning difficulty (2), emotional and mental health (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll210212210211210210
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals4%5%6%3%2%3%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%7%7%7%6%6%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support12%13%14%4%5%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%0%0%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school2.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.92024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.2%4.2%3.7%5.1%2.1%2.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.6%3.4%3.1%4.4%1.8%2.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.6%0.7%0.6%0.7%0.3%0.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence2.7%4.4%3.3%8.3%0.0%1.6%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.90.51.01.40.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers6.6full-time equivalent, 7 people
Pupils per teacher31.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants3.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,763
Teachers who left in the year39%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.52024/25

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£6,080England £7,128. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£6,175England £7,587. Total £1.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,146England £3,405
Money in reserve-5%In the red: -£70k, -£332 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£20kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,080spent 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 m23612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate99 per 1,000 people9% higher than the England average
Typical house price£235,000Birmingham

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
Boldmere Junior SchoolCouncil630 m379No overall grade 202489Compare
Boldmere Infant School and NurseryCouncil630 m308Good 202341Compare
Wylde Green Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles423Not inspected92Compare
Maney Hill Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles421Good 201991Compare
New Oscott Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles648Good 2023Compare
Town House Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 milesNot inspectedCompare
Twickenham Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles439Good 202288Compare
Court Farm Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles236Good 201927Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Nicholas Catholic Primary School 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.

Beats25%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 75 is 11 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 30 · middle 86 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Nicholas Catholic 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
St Andrew's CofE First SchoolChurch of England14.4 miles218No overall grade 202490Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 75 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 75% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 53 to 88. 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
+0.18
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 30 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.07
DfE progress measure; 30 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.11
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.14
2024/25; 185 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.03
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 30 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 Nicholas Catholic Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Nicholas Catholic Primary School scores 75 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 53 to 88, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

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

Ofsted rated St Nicholas Catholic Primary School good at its last full inspection on 13 March 2023.

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

In summer 2025, 60% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Nicholas Catholic Primary School have?

210 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 100% full.

Is St Nicholas Catholic Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 1 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 Nicholas Catholic Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 3% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Nicholas Catholic Primary School?

The average class had 30.0 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
Jockey Road, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5US
Telephone
0121 355 2649
Website
www.stnicholassutton.org.uk
Headteacher
Mr Neil Porter
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Birmingham
Multi-academy trust
St. John Paul Ii Multi Academy Company (13 schools)
Local authority
Birmingham
Ward
Sutton Vesey
Constituency
Sutton Coldfield
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2014 (academy converter)
URN
140529 · LAESTAB 3303403 · UKPRN 10044508
Formerly
St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from