English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School

About English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School

English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School sits within the Birmingham local authority, a large and diverse primary landscape of 292 schools. Among these, it ranks 132nd, placing it in the middle of the pack. The top-performing peers in the area include Little Sutton Primary School, Cromwell Junior and Infant School, and Lift Lea Forest, all of which score higher on the same ranking metric. The school is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, led by headteacher Evelyn Harper. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in 2023, rated the school Good overall, a change from its previous Outstanding rating in 2016. While the overall effectiveness dropped, the inspection found personal development to remain Outstanding, and the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision were all judged Good. The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, with 48.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Academically, English Martyrs' performs broadly in line with the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 63% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, matching the Birmingham LA average of 63%. This places the school at the 50th percentile nationally and in the bottom half of schools in the West Midlands region. Results varied by subject: 86% met the expected standard in maths, with an average scaled score of 107, while reading and writing saw 73% and 66% respectively. At the higher standard, 21% achieved in maths, 23% in reading, and 11% in writing, but only 9% reached the higher benchmark across all three subjects. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. The school was oversubscribed for 2025/26, receiving 95 applications for 25 places, with 24 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.8.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, art studios, playing fields, an outdoor playground, a dining hall, a chapel, and a Forest School. Sports provision covers gymnastics, swimming, netball, dance, cricket, athletics and football, while clubs include coding, chess, book club and film club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for a wide range of conditions, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary school is The Olive School, Birmingham, 1.2 km away. English Martyrs' will suit families who want a faith-based primary in a diverse urban setting, particularly those who value a strong personal development focus and a broad extracurricular offer, though they should be aware that academic outcomes are average and the school is heavily oversubscribed.

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