St Mary's Catholic Primary School

About St Mary's Catholic Primary School

St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Worthing sits slightly above the local authority average for its key stage 2 headline measure, with 61 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with 56 per cent across West Sussex primary schools. That five-point gap is modest but consistent, and it places the school 74th out of 226 primary schools in the county. In the Worthing local area specifically, the school ranks 9th out of 16 primaries, putting it in the bottom half of its immediate neighbours. The school is oversubscribed by nearly two to one, with 111 applications for 57 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, and 56 of those offers went to first-preference families. That level of demand suggests local parents see something worth securing, even if the raw scores don't put the school among the highest-performing in the region.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 key stage 2 results, the picture is mixed. Reading scores are the strongest subject, with 74 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard and an average scaled score of 103. Writing follows at 79 per cent expected, and maths trails at 68 per cent expected, with an average score of 101. Only 5 per cent of pupils hit the higher standard across all three subjects, which is low, though individual subject higher rates are a bit better: 21 per cent in writing, 13 per cent in reading and 11 per cent in maths. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2025 judged it Good across all five categories, a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2015, when it was rated Inadequate. The ungraded inspection in 2025 confirmed that standards have been maintained. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 100 per cent of the 41 respondents would recommend the school, and 98 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy there.

The school operates from a site that includes a chapel, music rooms, a gymnasium, playing fields and an ICT suite, and runs clubs such as science, gardening and book club. Sports on offer include cross country, cricket, athletics, swimming, dance, football and rounders. For children with additional needs, the school lists provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health needs, visual impairment and autistic spectrum disorder. The parent view data on SEND support is too small to report, so it's worth asking the school directly about how that works in practice. With 230 pupils on roll against a capacity of 225, the school is full, and oversubscription is a reality for applicants. This is a Catholic state primary that suits families who want a faith-based setting with strong parent satisfaction, decent but not outstanding results, and a clear trajectory of improvement from a difficult past.

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