St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Dudley holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025, but the detail tells a stronger story. Inspectors judged behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all to be Outstanding, while early years provision also earned the top grade. The school’s academic performance is its standout feature: 77% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, well above the Dudley local authority average of 59%. That result places St Joseph’s 6th out of 69 primary schools in the borough, putting it in the top 10% locally. It also ranks in the top 16% nationally. The school’s ranking score of 77 reflects consistent strength across the core subjects, with reading a particular highlight — 90% of pupils met the expected standard and 61% reached the higher standard.

Digging into the exam data, St Joseph’s pupils performed strongly across all three core subjects. In reading, the average scaled score was 109, and in maths it was 106. At the higher standard, 35% of pupils achieved that level in maths, 19% in writing and 61% in reading — the latter a notably high figure. Writing was the weakest area, with 84% reaching the expected standard and 19% hitting the higher threshold, but still comfortably above the national picture. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points, but the raw outcomes are strong. The Ofsted report noted that the quality of education is Good, and with Outstanding grades for personal development and behaviour, the school clearly balances academic rigour with character building.

St Joseph’s is a Roman Catholic primary for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 92 applications for 29 places, with 45 first-preference applications for those 29 spots — a ratio of 3.17 applicants per place. The school has a capacity of 210 but currently has 250 pupils on roll, so classes are full. Facilities include a chapel, art studios, playing fields and a gymnasium, and clubs range from choir and drama to coding and chess. The school supports a wide range of SEND needs, including dyslexia, speech and language difficulties, and social and emotional mental health needs. Parent feedback is very positive: 88% of respondents would recommend the school, and 96% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there. This is a school for families who value strong academic outcomes within a faith-based, well-ordered environment.

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