St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

About St Patrick's Catholic Primary School

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School in Bassetlaw is a small Roman Catholic state primary that, on paper, looks like it's swimming against the tide. Its key headline metric — the percentage of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 — sits at 22%. That's dramatically lower than the Nottinghamshire local authority average of 61% for primary schools, and it places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this measure. In fact, within Bassetlaw it ranks 44th out of 44 primary schools, and across the East Midlands it sits in the 98th percentile from the bottom. So the headline story here is one of significant academic challenge, and any parent considering the school will want to understand why those numbers look the way they do, and what the school is doing about it.

Digging into the KS2 results for 2023/24, the picture is mixed. While only 22% of pupils hit the expected standard across all three subjects, individual subject scores tell a slightly more nuanced story. In reading, 56% reached the expected level and 33% achieved a higher standard, with an average scaled score of 102 — bang on the national benchmark. Maths was weaker: 56% at expected, 11% at higher, with an average score of 98. Writing lagged behind at 44% expected and 11% higher. There's no Progress 8 data available for primary schools, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. Ofsted rated the school Good overall in its most recent inspection in April 2023, with Good across all categories including behaviour, personal development and leadership. That inspection noted the school had held a Good rating since at least 2018, so there's consistency in leadership under headteacher Mary Jenkinson.

On the practical side, the school is heavily oversubscribed: for 15 places in 2025/26, it received 41 applications, with 12 first-preference offers and an oversubscription ratio of 2.73. That suggests strong local demand despite the academic results. The school serves a community with high disadvantage — 41.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Facilities are decent for a small primary: a gymnasium, ICT suite, playing fields, sensory room, forest school, music rooms, library and chapel. There's a good range of sports and clubs including football, dance, chess, coding and eco club. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. With nursery provision on site and a strong Catholic ethos, this school is likely to suit families who prioritise a supportive, community-focused environment over headline exam scores, and who value the wraparound pastoral and SEND support on offer.

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