St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School

About St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School

St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary in Brighton and Hove, one of 48 primary schools in the local authority. In the most recent local rankings, it placed 39th out of those 48, placing it in the bottom tier of schools in the area. For context, the top-performing peers in the LA include Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove, Hove Junior School, and Stanford Junior School, all of which scored significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The school is led by headteacher Carly Carden and has a capacity of 210 pupils, with 196 currently on roll. It serves a community with a relatively high level of disadvantage: 41.8 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in September 2024, rated it Good across all graded areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The early years provision was also rated Good.

Academically, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show a mixed picture. Just 34 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the LA average of 59 per cent. In reading, 69 per cent met the expected standard and 28 per cent reached the higher standard, while in maths, 45 per cent met the expected standard and 10 per cent reached the higher standard. Writing was weaker, with only 38 per cent reaching the expected standard and none achieving the higher standard. The average reading score was 106 and the average maths score was 100. Progress scores are not available for any of the three subjects. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 5 per cent of primary schools on the combined expected standard metric, and in the South East it sits in the bottom 5 per cent as well. The school’s overall ranking score of 34 places it in the bottom 50 nationally.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, art studios, ICT suite, sports hall, sensory room and a chapel. There are seven sports on offer — netball, cricket, football, athletics, rounders, cross country and dance — plus clubs such as coding, science club, book club, film club, drama and eco club. The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 45 applications for 28 places and 24 first-preference offers made. It supports pupils with a range of special educational needs, including dyslexia, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health needs, hearing impairment and physical disability. Parent View responses from 40 parents between September 2024 and September 2025 were overwhelmingly positive: 95 per cent would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed that children are happy, feel safe, and that the school has high expectations. This is a school that suits families who value a faith-based, community-focused primary with strong pastoral care, but who are aware that academic outcomes are below the local average.

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