St Matthew's Primary School

About St Matthew's Primary School

St Matthew’s Primary School in Luton has been rated Good overall by Ofsted following its September 2023 inspection, a clear step up from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2019. The school’s Early Years provision was singled out as Outstanding, while leadership, behaviour, personal development and the quality of education all earned Good grades. On the most telling exam metric, 60 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure sits just below the Luton local authority average of 62 per cent, placing the school 20th out of 37 primary schools in the borough. Nationally, St Matthew’s ranks in the 57th percentile, meaning it performs better than just over half of all primary schools in England. The school’s Progress 8 scores for reading, writing and maths are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

A closer look at the individual subject scores reveals some variation. In maths, 74 per cent of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score was 105, while in reading 71 per cent hit the mark with an average score of 104. Writing saw 65 per cent reach the expected level. Higher-standard attainment was much lower: just one per cent of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, with 24 per cent reaching that level in maths alone and 25 per cent in reading. The school’s ranking within Luton puts it in the bottom half of the local authority, though it is worth noting that the top three schools in the area — Tennyson Road, Hillborough Junior and River Bank — all sit within 1.8 km. St Matthew’s is a large primary, with 898 pupils on roll against a capacity of 900, and it is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, 233 families applied for 120 places, with 116 of those offers going to first-preference applicants.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including playing fields, a sports hall, a library, an outdoor playground, a sensory room and a chapel. Sports on offer include netball, athletics, swimming, cross country and tennis, while clubs cover drama, choir and art. St Matthew’s has a notably wide range of SEND provisions, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. With 31.2 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. This is a school that has made solid progress in its Ofsted rating and offers strong Early Years provision, but whose academic outcomes sit around the local average. It will suit families who value a large, inclusive primary with good facilities and a clear upward trajectory in quality, but who may want to check whether the school’s attainment profile matches their child’s needs.

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