Our Lady's Catholic Academy

About Our Lady's Catholic Academy

Our Lady's Catholic Academy in Stoke-on-Trent was rated Good in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2015, and a subsequent ungraded inspection in 2021 confirmed the school remains Good. That represents a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2013, when overall effectiveness was judged as Requires Improvement. On the most telling academic metric available, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 was 71% in the 2023/24 academic year. That is comfortably above the Stoke-on-Trent local authority average of 60%, placing the school 18th out of 63 primary schools in the area. Nationally, it sits in the top 28% of all primary schools for this measure. The school’s ranking score of 71 places it in the top 50 tier of schools in the local authority.

Digging into the individual subject scores, the picture is broadly positive. In reading, 77% of pupils met the expected standard and 19% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 104. In writing, 81% met the expected standard and 6% achieved the higher mark. Maths saw 74% at the expected level and 10% at the higher level, with an average scaled score of 102. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard across all three subjects is just 3%, which is a relatively low figure and suggests that while most children are meeting the expected benchmark, fewer are stretching into the top tier of attainment.

The school is a Roman Catholic primary for mixed pupils aged 3 to 11, with nursery provision on site. It is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 35 applications for 22 places, with 21 of those coming as first preferences. The oversubscription ratio of 1.59 means competition for places is real. Facilities include a gymnasium, sports hall, playing fields, ICT suite, library, music rooms, dining hall and a chapel. The school offers a range of clubs including Eco Club, Science Club, Film Club, Art Club and Coding, and sports include gymnastics, netball, athletics, dance and cross country. SEND provision covers moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. With 52.2% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage, making its above-average KS2 outcomes particularly notable.

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