St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors

About St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors

St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Clayton-le-Moors, is a small state primary that parents clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 reception intake, the school received 61 applications for just 20 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.05. Of those, 25 families put it as their first preference, and all 20 places went to first-preference applicants. That level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, though it's worth noting the school doesn't publish a parent satisfaction survey or a 'would recommend' percentage in the data. The school is Roman Catholic in character, which likely shapes its admissions criteria, and it's led by headteacher Michael Mashiter. With 127 pupils on roll against a capacity of 119, it's technically over capacity, which adds to the sense of a school that's very much in demand among Hyndburn families.

Academically, the picture is mixed. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, St Mary's was rated Good overall, with behaviour and attitudes judged Outstanding. The early years provision, quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management were all rated Good. However, the school's Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show that only 25% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Lancashire local authority average of 60%. That places St Mary's 411th out of 480 similar schools in the county, and in the bottom 50 nationally. Individual subject scores are more encouraging: 80% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, and 55% in writing, though maths was lower at 50%. Average scaled scores were 102 in reading and 100 in maths, both close to the national benchmark of 100.

The school offers a decent range of facilities for its size, including a Forest School, gymnasium, sports hall, chapel, music rooms and an ICT suite. Sports provision covers dance, cricket, rounders, swimming, netball and tennis, while clubs include gardening, chess, choir, drama, film club and coding. SEND support is in place for pupils with specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social and emotional mental health difficulties, and multi-sensory impairment. With 41.7% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. This is a school that suits families who value a strong Catholic ethos, small class sizes, and a supportive environment for pupils with additional needs, but who are realistic about academic outcomes that sit well below the local average.

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