St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Rushmoor received its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2024 and was judged Outstanding across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a clean sweep of top grades, and it matches the Outstanding rating the school held in its previous inspection back in 2011. But the real story is in the exam data. At Key Stage 2, 88% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — well above the Hampshire local authority average of 61%. The school also ranks first out of 16 primary schools in the Rushmoor borough for this metric, placing it in the top 5% nationally. Its reading and maths average scores both sit at 111, comfortably above the national benchmark of 100.

Digging deeper into the KS2 results, the school's strength in maths is particularly notable: 94% of pupils reached the expected standard, and 60% achieved the higher standard. In reading, 93% met the expected level, again with 60% reaching the higher tier. Writing saw 91% at expected and 46% at the higher standard. These figures place St Joseph's in the 97th percentile nationally and the 95th percentile across the South East region. The school's overall ranking score of 88 puts it sixth among all 425 primary schools in Hampshire, and it sits just behind a cluster of top-performing peers including Preston Candover Church of England Primary School and Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School. For parents focused on academic outcomes, this is a school that consistently delivers results well above local and national averages.

St Joseph's is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary for mixed pupils aged 4 to 11, with 489 pupils on roll — slightly over its official capacity of 476. It is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 169 applications for 70 places, with 101 first-preference applications and only 69 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.41. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a chapel, forest school, art studios, music rooms, a gymnasium, and an ICT suite. Sports include cross country, netball, rounders, dance and tennis, while clubs cover science, art, film and drama. SEND provision is well-developed, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and social and emotional mental health needs. This is a school for families who value strong academic outcomes within a Catholic ethos, and who are prepared for a competitive admissions process.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents