St Josephs Catholic Primary School

About St Josephs Catholic Primary School

St Josephs Catholic Primary School in Camden is a small Catholic primary with 148 pupils, and its headline KS2 results paint a mixed picture against the local authority average. While 65% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, that is ten percentage points below the Camden average of 75%. This places the school 32nd out of 38 primaries in the borough, in the bottom 16% locally. However, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2025 judged it Outstanding across the board — for quality of education, personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. That is a significant step up from its previous Good rating in 2018, and it joins 17 other Outstanding primaries in Camden. The school’s early years provision was rated Good in the latest inspection, so the Outstanding judgement applies to the main school years.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 KS2 data, the school’s performance is uneven by subject. In reading, 83% of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score was 105, while in maths 83% also met the expected standard with an average score of 106. Writing was weaker, with 74% reaching the expected standard. At the higher standard, just 9% of pupils achieved the top level across all three subjects, and only 22% did so in reading, 30% in maths and 30% in writing. The school’s national ranking for the combined expected standard is in the 45th percentile, and in London it sits in the 67th percentile. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 88% would recommend the school, and 100% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy and feels safe. Strong agreement was particularly high for safety (81%) and doing well (75%).

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 39 applications for just 11 places, a ratio of 3.55 applicants per place, and all 10 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. Facilities include a chapel, forest school, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite and a library, and the school offers a range of sports including swimming, tennis and gymnastics, plus clubs like art, drama, film and choir. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, moderate and severe learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing and multi-sensory impairment, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a nursery provision and a Catholic character, this school will particularly suit Catholic families in Camden who value a strong pastoral and spiritual environment, though its academic results are below the local average and parents should weigh that against the Outstanding Ofsted rating and very high satisfaction levels.

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