St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Bristol holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it maintained following an ungraded inspection in December 2022. The most telling academic metric for this 208-pupil primary is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2, which stands at 37 per cent. That figure places the school well below the Bristol local authority average of 58 per cent, and ranks it 80th out of 85 primary schools in the area. In the wider South West region, it sits in the bottom half of schools for this measure. The school's performance is notably stronger in individual subjects: 70 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, and 63 per cent did so in maths. However, only 37 per cent reached the expected level in writing, and the proportion achieving the higher standard across all three subjects was just 4 per cent.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, the average scaled scores tell a mixed story. Pupils achieved an average reading score of 107, which is above the national benchmark of 100, while the average maths score of 104 also sits above that baseline. Yet the percentage of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading was 37 per cent, compared with 19 per cent in maths and just 4 per cent in writing. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to see how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. In its previous graded inspection in 2012, the school was rated Good overall, with Good leadership and management, having improved from a Requires Improvement rating in 2008. The most recent ungraded inspection confirmed the school remains Good, meaning the overall quality of education has been sustained.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 77 applications for 28 places, with 26 first-preference offers made. That gives an oversubscription ratio of 2.75, reflecting its popularity among local Catholic families. Facilities include a Forest School, sensory room, chapel, library, ICT suite, and both gym and sports halls. Sports offered include football, netball, athletics and tennis, while clubs range from book club and eco club to choir and film club. The school supports a wide range of special educational needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, and social, emotional and mental health needs. With a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 13 per cent, St Joseph's suits families seeking a faith-based primary with strong reading outcomes and a broad set of enrichment opportunities, though those prioritising combined academic results may want to compare with higher-ranked local peers.

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