Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

About Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School sits below the local authority average for Key Stage 2 outcomes, with 56% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Redcar and Cleveland average of 65%. That gap of nine percentage points places the school 30th out of 44 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the bottom half of local state primaries. However, the picture is not uniformly weaker. Reading results are a clear strength: 88% of pupils met the expected standard and 34% reached the higher standard, both figures well above what you might expect given the overall ranking. Maths is more mixed, with 63% at expected and 16% at higher, while writing sits at 78% expected and 19% higher. The school’s average reading score of 105 and maths score of 103 suggest solid foundations, even if the combined headline figure lags behind the LA norm.

In its most recent graded inspection in 2014, Ofsted rated the school Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for overall effectiveness. An ungraded inspection in December 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. The previous inspection in 2009 also rated it Good, so the school has held a consistent Good rating across all three inspections. The early years provision was rated Outstanding in 2009, though no separate early years grade was given in the most recent graded inspection. The school is a Roman Catholic voluntary academy with a nursery provision for children aged three and above, and it serves 194 pupils against a capacity of 210, so there is some spare capacity. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 7.3%, notably lower than the national average, which may reflect the local catchment.

The school offers a range of facilities including a chapel, forest school, music rooms, library, ICT suite, playing fields and an outdoor playground. Sports provision includes cricket, dance, swimming and rounders, and there are clubs such as art, coding, gardening, eco club, chess and choir. For SEND, the school supports pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, visual impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. Admissions for 2025/26 show the school is oversubscribed: 40 applications for 30 places, with 28 first-preference offers made from 28 first-preference applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.33. This suggests strong local demand, particularly from Catholic families, and the school will suit parents who value a faith-based primary with solid reading outcomes and a broad range of enrichment activities.

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