Leyland St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School

About Leyland St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School

Leyland St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in June 2024, with one standout area: behaviour and attitudes were judged Outstanding. That's a notable improvement from the previous inspection in 2019, when that category was rated Good alongside everything else. On the academic front, the most telling metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — 53% of Year 6 pupils achieved that benchmark in the 2023/24 assessments. That's below the Lancashire local authority average of 60%, placing the school 306th out of 480 primaries in the county. In the more local South Ribble ranking, it sits 25th out of 35 schools, putting it in the bottom half of its immediate area. The school's overall ranking score of 53 places it in the bottom 50% nationally.

Digging into the individual subjects, the picture is mixed. In reading, 70% of pupils met the expected standard and 30% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 104. Maths saw 73% at expected and 19% at the higher level, with an average score of 103. Writing was the weakest area: 64% reached the expected standard and no pupils achieved the higher standard. No pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects combined. The school's Progress 8 data is not available, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. But the raw outcomes suggest that while the school is solid in reading and maths, writing is a clear area for development. The Ofsted report noted that leadership and management, quality of education, early years provision and personal development all remain Good, so there's consistency across the board even if the headline exam figures don't stand out.

The school is significantly oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 50 applications for just 13 places, and all 13 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. That's a ratio of nearly four applicants per place, so families need to be prepared for a competitive admissions process, especially given the Roman Catholic faith designation. Facilities are strong for a primary of this size — there's a gymnasium, sports hall, library, ICT suite, music rooms, a forest school and a chapel. Sports include cricket, swimming, cross country, rounders, athletics and netball, and clubs run the gamut from eco club and science club to choir, coding and film club. The school also has a nursery provision and supports pupils with a range of SEND needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and social, emotional and mental health needs. With 30.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals, it serves a relatively disadvantaged intake compared to the national average. This is a faith school with strong behaviour, good facilities and a clear community feel, but families should weigh the below-average academic outcomes against the pastoral strengths.

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