St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

About St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School sits in the middle of the pack in Buckinghamshire, with 65% of its pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at KS2 – almost exactly in line with the local authority average of 64%. That places it 67th out of 184 primary schools in the county, putting it in the top half but not among the frontrunners. The school's ranking percentile of 50.4 within the LA tells the same story: a solid, unflashy performer. Where it does nudge ahead is in individual subjects: 79% of pupils hit the expected level in reading and 83% in writing, both comfortably above the maths figure of 77%. The average scaled scores of 107 in reading and 106 in maths are respectable, though the proportion reaching the higher standard in reading (46%) is notably stronger than in maths (35%) or writing (33%). For a Roman Catholic primary with a nursery and a 2-11 age range, this is a school that delivers consistent, middle-ground results without any dramatic peaks or troughs.

The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2025 rated it Good overall, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement grade in 2015. The ungraded inspection noted that the school had 'improved significantly', and inspectors judged leadership, management, early years provision and behaviour all as Good. The parent view, collected between September 2024 and September 2025 from 79 respondents, is overwhelmingly positive: 87% would recommend the school, and 78% strongly agreed their child is happy here. Strong agreement was also high for safety (81%), behaviour (81%) and the school's high expectations (66%). However, there are some clear trouble spots: only 47% strongly agreed that SEND children get the support they need, while 27% strongly disagreed – the most polarised response in the survey. Similarly, 9% strongly disagreed that bullying is dealt with quickly, though 63% marked it as not applicable, suggesting most families haven't encountered the issue.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 it received 102 applications for 55 places, a ratio of 1.85, with all 35 first-preference applicants receiving offers. Facilities include a sports hall, art studios, forest school, playing fields, chapel and dining hall, plus clubs covering drama, gardening, book club and science. Sports on offer are athletics, swimming, rounders and dance. The SEND register covers a broad range of needs including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, multi-sensory impairment and autistic spectrum disorder – though the parent survey suggests some families feel provision falls short. With 17.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a fairly mixed catchment. It will suit families looking for a faith-based primary with good but not exceptional results, strong parental satisfaction overall, and a wide range of enrichment activities, provided they are comfortable with the mixed feedback on SEND support.

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