Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School

About Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in Sefton is a school that local families clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 40 applications for just 25 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.6. Every one of those 25 places went to a first-preference applicant, which suggests parents who put it top of their list tend to get what they want. The school doesn't publish a parent-view survey score, so we can't give you a recommend percentage, but the demand alone tells a story. It's a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for mixed genders, with a nursery on site for children from age three. Headteacher Claire Roberts leads a school that currently has 207 pupils on roll, which is actually above its official capacity of 184, so it's clearly a popular choice in the local area.

Academically, the picture is more mixed. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, just 4% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is well below the Sefton local authority average of 59%. The school ranks 59th out of 59 primary schools in Sefton on this measure, placing it in the bottom 50 nationally. Breaking it down, 43% hit the expected standard in reading, 39% in writing, and only 17% in maths. No pupils achieved the higher standard in any of the three subjects. Average scores were 97 in reading and 95 in maths. That said, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2024 rated it Good overall, with Good marks across every category including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. Its previous inspection in 2015 also rated it Good, so there's consistency in the judgement even if the exam results are low.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for a primary of this size, including a sports hall, ICT suite, art studios, music rooms and a chapel. Sports on offer include gymnastics, cross country, tennis and netball, while clubs extend to gardening, chess and film club. The SEND provision is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This suggests the school is well set up to support children with additional needs. For families considering alternatives, the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Rimrose Hope CofE Primary School, just 0.4 km away. Our Lady Star of the Sea is a faith school with strong local demand, but its academic outcomes are significantly below the local average, so it's best suited to families who prioritise the Catholic ethos and community feel over raw exam scores.

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