St Mary's Primary School Knaresborough, A Voluntary Catholic Academy

About St Mary's Primary School Knaresborough, A Voluntary Catholic Academy

St Mary's Primary School Knaresborough sits squarely in the middle of the pack when it comes to its headline Key Stage 2 results. The school achieved a 58% expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is very close to the North Yorkshire local authority average of 60% for primary schools. That places it 124th out of 292 schools of its type in the county, putting it in the bottom half of the league table. The data suggests a school that is solidly average for the area rather than one that stands out academically. Where it does catch the eye is in reading, where pupils scored an average of 105, and 27% reached the higher standard. Maths was a little weaker, with an average score of 102 and 19% hitting the higher threshold. Writing and reading, maths combined at the higher level was just 4%, which is low. So while the school is broadly in line with the LA norm, the picture is mixed depending on the subject.

Ofsted inspectors have consistently rated St Mary's as Good across the board, most recently confirming that standards were maintained in an ungraded inspection in March 2025. The graded inspection from November 2019 gave top marks of Good for every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The previous graded inspection in 2012 also rated the school Good overall. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with 94% of the 51 respondents saying they would recommend the school. In the Parent View survey, 96% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy, and the same proportion felt their child is safe. Behaviour is seen as strong, with 86% agreeing the school ensures pupils are well behaved. However, only 29% strongly agreed that concerns are dealt with properly, and 10% disagreed, which is a slightly weaker area.

The school is a Roman Catholic voluntary academy with a chapel on site, and it is oversubscribed: for 29 places in 2025/26, there were 72 applications, a ratio of 2.48 to one. Of those, 30 were first preferences, and 26 received offers. The school has a capacity of 210 and currently has 194 pupils, so there is a little headroom. Facilities include a library, music rooms, playing fields, a forest school, sports hall, art studios and a dining hall. Clubs cover book, science, art and gardening, and sports include cross country, netball, cricket and athletics. SEND provision is listed for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 16.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a fairly typical demographic for the area. It suits families who want a faith-based primary with a strong pastoral reputation and a broad range of activities, but who are comfortable with academic results that are in line with, rather than ahead of, the local average.

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