Our Lady & St. Joseph Catholic Academy

About Our Lady & St. Joseph Catholic Academy

Our Lady & St. Joseph Catholic Academy is a state primary in Nuneaton and Bedworth that is clearly in high demand. The school currently has 562 pupils on roll, well above its official capacity of 476, and for the 2025/26 reception intake it received 178 applications for just 70 places, with 94 families putting it as their first preference. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2.54, meaning more than two and a half families applied for every spot. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 13.7%, which is broadly in line with the national average for primary schools and suggests a genuinely mixed intake. As a Roman Catholic school, it will prioritise children from practising Catholic families in its admissions, but the sheer volume of applications — including 94 first-preference choices — shows it has a strong reputation that extends well beyond its faith community.

Academically, this is a school that performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Warwickshire local authority average of 62%. The school also excels at stretching its pupils: 45% achieved a higher standard in reading, 22% in maths, and 9% in writing. Average scaled scores were 107 in reading and 106 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. This strong performance places the school 2nd out of 25 primary schools in the Nuneaton and Bedworth local area ranking, and within the top 11% nationally. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2025 gave it Outstanding grades across every category judged — quality of education, early years provision, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management — a clean sweep that it also achieved in its previous inspection back in 2014.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a chapel, forest school, sensory room, art studios and an ICT suite, plus sports such as swimming, cricket, football, athletics, dance and netball. Clubs include choir, drama, book club and art club. For children with additional needs, the school lists provisions for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, physical disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 97% of respondents would recommend the school, and 96% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy here. With a nursery on site and oversubscribed reception places, this is a school that suits families who value strong academic outcomes within a Catholic ethos and are prepared to apply early and with conviction.

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