St Catherine's RC Primary School

About St Catherine's RC Primary School

St Catherine's RC Primary School is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 5 to 11, located in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire. In the local authority's primary school rankings, it sits 7th out of 35 schools, placing it comfortably in the top 25% of its tier. The three highest-ranked peers in the same area are Crawford Village Primary School, New Longton All Saints CofE Primary School, and St George's Church of England Primary School in Chorley. With 214 pupils against a capacity of 220, the school is nearly full, and its 2025/26 admissions data confirms it is oversubscribed: 88 applications were received for 30 places, with 29 of those going to first-preference families. The headteacher is Simon Lawman, and the school's religious character is Roman Catholic, which will appeal to families seeking a faith-based primary education within a supportive local community.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, St Catherine's received a Good rating across all five graded categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This continues a pattern of consistent Good ratings, as the school also achieved Good in its previous inspection in 2014. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined, well above the Lancashire local authority average of 60%. Subject-level results were strong: 91% reached the expected standard in maths, 88% in writing, and 75% in reading. The average maths score was 108, and the average reading score was 106. Higher-standard attainment was more modest, with 9% achieving the higher benchmark across all three subjects, though 38% did so in maths alone.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a chapel, music rooms, art studios, a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, and an ICT suite. Sports provision covers football, swimming, cricket, netball, gymnastics, cross country, and rounders, with additional clubs in drama, choir, and film club. SEND support is broad, covering specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families considering alternatives, the nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Euxton Primrose Hill Primary School, 3.2 km away. St Catherine's is best suited to families who value a faith-based, well-subscribed local primary with consistent Good Ofsted outcomes and above-average KS2 results, particularly in maths and writing.

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