St James Church of England Primary Academy

About St James Church of England Primary Academy

St James Church of England Primary Academy in Lichfield has been rated Good by Ofsted following an ungraded inspection in July 2024, a notable improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2013 when it was judged Requires Improvement. The school's leadership and management are also rated Good, and the inspection confirmed that the school remains on a positive trajectory. The most telling academic metric comes from the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results: 80% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits well above the Staffordshire local authority average of 65%, placing St James in the top 25% of primary schools nationally and 7th out of 34 schools in the Lichfield district. With only 91 pupils on roll against a capacity of 105, this is a small, close-knit primary where the data suggests solid academic foundations.

Breaking the KS2 results down further, 90% of pupils reached the expected standard in maths and writing individually, while 80% did so in reading. At the higher standard, 30% achieved above-expected scores in reading, 20% in writing and 10% in maths. Average scaled scores were 107 in reading and 105 in maths, both comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to measure how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. However, the combined expected standard figure of 80% is strong enough to rank St James in the top 10% nationally among all primary schools. The school has no sixth form and no nursery provision, so its academic story is entirely focused on the primary phase through to Year 6.

St James is a Church of England primary that is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 33 applications for 16 places, with all 16 first-preference applicants offered a spot. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2.06, meaning competition is real but not extreme. Facilities include a forest school, sensory room, chapel and music rooms, and the school runs clubs such as eco club, book club and art club. Sports on offer include cricket, athletics, football, tennis and cross country. The school lists SEND provision for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. For families seeking a small, church-affiliated primary with above-average outcomes and a clear improvement story from its Ofsted history, St James is a strong contender in the Lichfield area.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St James Church of England Primary Academy

Helpful Guides for Parents