St John Fisher Catholic Primary School

About St John Fisher Catholic Primary School

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School sits in a tricky spot compared with the Knowsley average for Key Stage 2 outcomes. The local authority average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 60 per cent, but at this school the figure is 54 per cent, putting it six points below the LA benchmark. That gap is reflected in its ranking: 34th out of 47 primary schools in Knowsley, placing it in the bottom half of the borough. The school’s ranking score of 54 also lands it in the bottom 50 per cent nationally, around the 70th percentile. However, the picture is not uniformly lower. In writing, 79 per cent of pupils met the expected standard, which is a solid result, and 29 per cent reached the higher standard in reading, compared with just 4 per cent in maths and the combined measure. So while the headline figure trails the LA average, individual subjects tell a more mixed story.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in October 2024, the school was judged Good across every graded category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is consistent with its previous inspection in 2012, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good. On the Progress 8 measure, the data is not available, so it is not possible to compare pupil progress directly with the LA average. The school’s exam results come from the 2023/24 academic year, and the average scaled scores were 104 in reading and 101 in maths, both slightly above the national baseline of 100. The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading and maths was 63 per cent each, while writing was notably higher at 79 per cent. The parent view survey, based on 35 responses collected between September 2024 and September 2025, shows 80 per cent of parents would recommend the school, and 86 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that their child is happy there.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 18 places in the 2025/26 intake, it received 33 applications, all of which were first preferences, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. This suggests strong local demand, likely linked to its Roman Catholic character and the fact it is the only Catholic primary in the immediate area. Facilities include a library, playing fields, sports hall, ICT suite, music rooms and a chapel. The school offers a range of clubs such as book club, film club, science club, art club and gardening, plus sports including football, cricket, cross country and swimming. For SEND, the school lists provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulty or disability. With 15.9 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a broadly typical intake for the area. It is a good fit for Catholic families seeking a faith-based primary with strong pastoral care and a broad extracurricular offer, though those prioritising top-tier academic outcomes may want to compare results with higher-ranked local schools.

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