School Chooser

St Pius X Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 5-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic215 pupilsChelmsfordEssex
School Chooser Score
78
Above
similar schools
Likely range 54 to 91, so it could be “well above”
Out of 100. Better than 81% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
Reached the expected level at 1173%England 63%
Attendance95.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
PlacesFull215 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher23.4School workforce census
Pupils on roll215Census January 2026

St Pius X Catholic Primary School is a converter academy in Chelmsford for boys and girls aged 5 to 11. It has 215 pupils, 5 more than it has places for. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 78 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 81% of the 50 schools most like it.

Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, CM1 4HY01245 354875stpiusxchelmsford.co.ukMrs Sharon Derbyshire headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1173%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level18%
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: 52%52%20172018: 63%63%20182019: 63%63%20192023: 75%75%20232024: 65%65%20242025: 73%73%2025
Since 2017: +21%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†EssexEngland
Pupils tested333132303031
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths73%65%75%63%63%52%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths18%19%19%7%10%6%10%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0105.0107.0105.0103.0104.0105.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0106.0107.0104.0103.0100.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0107.0108.0106.0105.0105.0105.3105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard85%71%78%73%67%71%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard82%87%81%70%70%52%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)76%84%78%80%83%90%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.9-0.1-0.7+0.3
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.9-1.2-0.1-3.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged40%69%29%29%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged87%79%74%74%64%

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 Pius X Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in February 2020. 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 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
40%87%
Gap 47 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
60%83%
Gap 23 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
92%73%
Gap 19 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%18%
Gap 18 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.

Full213 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
101% full

The school is full, with 3 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.

How places were given out for September 2026. The last place was given under this rule: Criterion 7.

EntryPlacesApplied at allHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary3060LA

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 roll215Census January 2026
Places210102% full
Pupils from low-income families24%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English45%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support12%25 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size31.65 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils80%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)23%£74,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls90 / 125
White British pupils35%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 32.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (14), emotional and mental health (9), Specific learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Hearing impairment (1), Moderate learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll215214215213208210
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals24%22%22%23%22%26%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language45%42%41%37%35%34%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%11%10%12%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.6%4.6%4.9%6.0%2.8%3.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.8%3.6%3.9%5.2%2.4%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%1.0%1.0%0.8%0.4%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.1%8.3%8.9%17.5%5.3%3.2%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.90.90.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

† These attendance figures are for St Pius X Catholic Primary School, the school this one replaced in February 2020. 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.

Teachers9.2full-time equivalent, 12 people
Pupils per teacher23.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,672
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.62024/25

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£6,430England £7,128. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£6,678England £7,587. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,519England £3,405
Money in reserve20%A lot put by: £290k, £1,355 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£53kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,430spent 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 m31212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate107 per 1,000 people17% higher than the England average
Typical house price£400,000Chelmsford
Nearest bus stop240 mSunrise Avenue, 16 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
Parkwood AcademyAcademy400 m196Requires improvement 20248Compare
Kings Road Primary SchoolAcademy550 m403Good 202025Compare
Maltese Road Primary SchoolAcademy940 m211Good 202481Compare
Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery SchoolAcademy0.8 miles479Good 202349Compare
Lawford Mead Primary & NurseryAcademy0.9 miles413Good 202036Compare
Broomfield Primary SchoolFoundation1.0 miles417Good 202352Compare
The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, ChelmsfordChurch of England1.1 miles314Report card 202687Compare
Westlands Community Primary SchoolCouncil1.1 miles571Good 201991Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Pius X Catholic Primary School with the 48 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 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats81%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 78 is 23 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 10 · middle 56 · highest 98100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 78 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 78% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 54 to 91. 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
+0.16
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 33 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.10
DfE progress measure; 33 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.03
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.04
2024/25; 198 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.11
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 33 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 Pius X Catholic Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Pius X Catholic Primary School scores 78 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 81% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 54 to 91, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

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

In summer 2025, 73% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 18% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Pius X Catholic Primary School have?

215 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 102% full.

Is St Pius X Catholic Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 3 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 Pius X Catholic Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Pius X Catholic Primary School?

The average class had 31.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 80% 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
Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, CM1 4HY
Telephone
01245 354875
Website
www.stpiusxchelmsford.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Sharon Derbyshire
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Brentwood
Multi-academy trust
The Rosary Trust - a Catholic Multi Academy (7 schools)
Local authority
Essex
Ward
Patching Hall
Constituency
Chelmsford
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 February 2020 (academy converter)
URN
147404 · LAESTAB 8813770 · UKPRN 10084729
Formerly
St Pius X Catholic Primary School

Where these figures come from