Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School

About Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School

Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School in Lewisham holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement judgement. The school was last inspected in 2019, when inspectors judged both leadership and management and early years provision as Good. This upward trajectory is worth noting for parents considering the school’s academic foundations. The most telling exam metric available is the local authority’s average Key Stage 2 score of 64, which provides a benchmark for how pupils here might perform against peers in Lewisham. With 30.8 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage, yet its Ofsted report confirms that pupils make good progress from their starting points. The school’s Roman Catholic character shapes its ethos, but the data suggests academic standards are solid without being exceptional.

The school’s most recent graded inspection in 2015 rated overall effectiveness as Good, and the 2019 ungraded inspection confirmed it remains Good. This consistency is reassuring for parents. The school does not publish its own Progress 8 or KS2 SATs results in the available data, so the local authority average of 64 is the best comparator. In Lewisham, only 10 out of 67 primary schools hold an Outstanding rating, meaning Good is a strong position. The nearest Outstanding school, Rathfern Primary School, is 1.8 km away. For a Catholic primary with a mixed intake, the academic picture is one of steady improvement rather than headline-grabbing results. Parents should note that the school’s Ofsted report highlights good leadership and early years provision, which often correlates with strong foundations for later learning.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 57 applications for 30 places, with all 30 first-preference applicants offered a spot. This gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.9, meaning competition is moderate but not extreme. Facilities include a forest school, chapel, art studios, ICT suite, sports hall, and playing fields, offering a broad range of activities. Clubs such as choir, eco club, and gardening complement the sports on offer: football, rounders, tennis, athletics, dance, cricket, and cross country. The school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and other difficulties. With nursery provision from age three, it suits Catholic families in Lewisham who want a faith-based primary with good pastoral support and a clear improvement story, though those seeking Outstanding-rated academics may need to look further afield.

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