St Joseph's School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy

About St Joseph's School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Joseph's School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy, sits within the Doncaster local authority, where it ranks 30th out of 98 primary schools of the same type. That places it comfortably in the top third of its local peers. The three highest-ranked schools in the area are Crookesbroom Primary Academy, St Oswald's CofE Academy, and Arksey Primary School, all of which score higher on the ranking metric. St Joseph's itself achieved a ranking score of 67, based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths. The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 52 applications for 28 places, with all 27 first-preference applicants receiving an offer. It is a Roman Catholic primary for mixed pupils aged 3 to 11, with nursery provision on site, and is led by headteacher Marianne Courtney.

Academically, St Joseph's performs above the local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 67% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined, compared with a Doncaster average of 61%. The school's average scores in reading and maths were both 107, and a notably high 87% of pupils met the expected standard in each of those subjects individually. At the higher standard, 17% achieved the combined benchmark, with 37% reaching that level in reading, 33% in maths, and 20% in writing. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, rated it Good overall, with leadership and management, early years provision, and behaviour and attitudes all judged Good. This represents a significant improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2015, when the school was rated Inadequate.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a sports hall, playing fields, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room, and a chapel. Sports on offer include football, cricket, swimming, and gymnastics, while clubs cover drama, gardening, coding, and science. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 98% of the 45 respondents would recommend the school, and 87% strongly agreed that their child is happy there. With its strong local reputation, oversubscribed intake, and clear academic improvement, St Joseph's is a solid choice for Catholic families in Doncaster, particularly those seeking a primary with a strong sense of community and good SEND support.

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