St Aelred's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic Voluntary Academy

About St Aelred's Catholic Primary School - a Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Aelred's Catholic Primary School sits at the bottom of York's primary school rankings, a position that stands in stark contrast to the local authority average. With just 32% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2, the school is well below the York average of 62%. This places it 47th out of 47 primary schools in the local authority, in the bottom 50% nationally. The school's ranking score of 32 is a long way from the top-performing local primaries, such as Knavesmire Primary School with a score of 92. However, the school serves a community with a high level of disadvantage: 32.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, more than double the national average. This context matters when interpreting the headline figures, and the school's Good Ofsted rating suggests that leadership is aware of the challenges and is working within them.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the picture is mixed across individual subjects. In writing, 58% of pupils met the expected standard, which is the strongest result of the three core subjects, while 13% reached the higher standard. Reading and maths both saw 45% and 39% of pupils at the expected level respectively, with average scaled scores of 99 in each. Only 3% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is difficult to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2024, inspectors rated the school Good across all five categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was a consistent performance compared with its previous inspection in 2012, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good.

St Aelred's is a small Catholic primary school with 178 pupils on roll, operating below its capacity of 210. It offers nursery provision for children from age three, and the school day runs through to Year 6. The school is oversubscribed for Reception places in 2025/26, with 30 applications for 14 places and 12 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.14. Facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, a library, a sensory room, a chapel and a Forest School area. There is a good range of clubs, including gardening, eco club, science club, drama and coding, plus sports such as gymnastics, tennis, cross country and netball. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that will suit families who value a Catholic ethos and a small, community-focused setting, but parents should be aware that academic outcomes are significantly below the local average.

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