St Mary's Church of England Primary School

About St Mary's Church of England Primary School

St Mary's Church of England Primary School sits within the Stoke-on-Trent local authority, where it ranks 9th out of 63 primary schools based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2. That places it comfortably in the top 25 per cent of schools nationally. Among its closest performing peers in the LA are Goldenhill Primary Academy, Newstead Primary Academy and Co-op Academy Glebe, each of which also scores highly on the same metric. The school is one of only 12 primaries in Stoke-on-Trent to hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted, and the nearest other Outstanding-rated school is Mill Hill Primary Academy, about a kilometre away. With 497 pupils on roll against a capacity of 480, the school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 admissions, there were 93 applications for 60 places, including 70 first-preference requests, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.55. Just over 46 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, which makes the school's strong performance all the more notable.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in May 2024, St Mary's received the highest possible grade of Outstanding across every category: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This marks a continuation of the Outstanding rating it held in its previous inspection in 2013. At Key Stage 2, 78 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of 60 per cent. In reading, 81 per cent reached the expected standard and 15 per cent achieved the higher standard; in writing, 81 per cent met the expected standard and 8 per cent reached the higher standard; in maths, 86 per cent met the expected standard and 15 per cent achieved the higher standard. Average scaled scores were 104 in reading and 105 in maths. Nationally, the school ranks 1,845th out of 13,686 primaries, placing it in the top 14 per cent of schools across the country.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, music rooms, art studios, a sensory room, a forest school area and a chapel. Sports provision includes cross country, rounders, swimming, dance, football, athletics and netball, while after-school clubs cover drama, coding, art, gardening, choir and eco club. The school has a nursery provision for children from age two and provides support for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With its strong academic outcomes, Outstanding Ofsted rating and oversubscribed intake, St Mary's is a popular choice for families in Stoke-on-Trent who want a Church of England primary that consistently outperforms the local average and offers a wide range of enrichment activities.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Mary's Church of England Primary School

Helpful Guides for Parents