Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

About Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School sits well below the Lincolnshire local authority average for its key stage 2 headline measure. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 57%, this school achieves just 42%. That gap of 15 percentage points places it 199th out of 280 primary schools in the county, and in the bottom half nationally. The school’s ranking score of 42 puts it firmly in the bottom 50% tier, and within the North Kesteven district it ranks 37th out of 41 schools. These are sobering numbers, and they matter because they suggest that, on average, children here are not hitting the same academic benchmarks as their peers across Lincolnshire. However, the school’s context is important: over 41% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, which often correlates with lower headline attainment figures.

A closer look at the 2023/24 key stage 2 results reveals a mixed picture. In reading, 58% of pupils met the expected standard, with an average scaled score of 102, and 21% reached the higher standard. Maths tells a similar story: 58% expected, average score 102, but only 13% at the higher level. Writing saw 58% expected and 17% at the higher level. The combined expected figure of 42% is the one that drags the ranking down, but individual subjects are closer to the national average. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2023 rated it Good across all five categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a consistent improvement from its previous inspection in 2011, which also rated the school Good overall but gave early years a lower grade of 2. The current inspection report notes no areas requiring improvement, and the school has held a Good rating across both its graded inspections.

The school is a small Roman Catholic primary with 156 pupils against a capacity of 175, and it was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry, receiving 17 applications for 14 places, with 11 first-preference offers made. Facilities include a chapel, sensory room, music rooms, art studios, and a sports hall, plus outdoor playground and playing fields. Sports offered are tennis, rounders, athletics and football, while clubs include coding, art, book club, gardening and drama. The school supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families prioritising a faith-based environment with strong pastoral support and a broad range of activities, this school offers a nurturing setting, though parents should weigh the below-average academic outcomes against the high level of pupil disadvantage when making their decision.

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