St Martha's Catholic Primary School

About St Martha's Catholic Primary School

St Martha's Catholic Primary School sits within the Norfolk local authority, in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, and ranks 10th out of 58 primary schools in that borough for the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. That puts it comfortably in the top 20 per cent of its immediate local area. Across the wider Norfolk authority, where there are 344 primary schools, it places 54th. The top-performing peers in the same local authority — Surlingham Primary School, Ditchingham Church of England Primary Academy, and Ashleigh Primary School and Nursery, Wymondham — all score higher on the same ranking metric, but St Martha's holds its own as a strong option for Catholic families in the region. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Eastgate Academy, 1.9 km away, which gives parents a direct local benchmark when weighing up their choices.

In its most recent graded inspection, carried out in 2011, St Martha's was rated Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management and for early years provision. An ungraded inspection in January 2024 confirmed the school remains Good. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 67 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths — well above the Norfolk local authority average of 52 per cent. Reading and maths average scores were 106 and 105 respectively, and 80 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, 78 per cent in maths, and 77 per cent in writing. At the higher standard, 8 per cent achieved the top level across all three subjects, with 32 per cent reaching it in reading, 25 per cent in maths, and 10 per cent in writing. The school does not have a sixth form, as it covers primary age only.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 95 applications for 58 places, with all 58 first-preference applicants offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.64. Facilities include a chapel, forest school, sports hall, art studios, music rooms, and an ICT suite. Sports on offer include swimming, gymnastics, netball, tennis, cricket, rounders and football, and there are clubs for drama, choir and science. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, and other difficulty or disability. With a below-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 7.5 per cent, St Martha's suits families who want a faith-based primary with strong academic outcomes relative to the local area, and who are prepared to apply early given its popularity.

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