St Paul's CofE Primary School

About St Paul's CofE Primary School

St Paul's CofE Primary School in Brighton and Hove is a smaller-than-average state primary, with 175 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210. That spare capacity is notable given the school's popularity: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 50 applications for 23 places, an oversubscription ratio of 2.17, and all 21 first-preference applicants were offered a place. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage — 29.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared with a national primary average of around 23%. This context matters when interpreting the school's current Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement, awarded in March 2023. The inspection found that while leadership, behaviour, personal development and early years provision are all Good, the quality of education itself needs improvement. The school has held a Good rating previously, so the downgrade reflects a specific dip in academic delivery rather than wider pastoral or behavioural concerns.

Academically, the most recent KS2 results from 2023/24 paint a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 60%, which is just above the local authority average of 59%. However, only 4% reached the higher standard in all three, and the school's ranking within Brighton and Hove places it in the bottom half of the 40 primary schools in the LA, at 20th. Individual subject scores are more encouraging: reading and writing both saw 80% of pupils meeting expectations, and the average reading scaled score was 106, while maths averaged 103. The school's national percentile ranking of 55.8 for the combined expected standard suggests it is performing broadly in line with the national median, though the gap between expected and higher-attaining pupils is wide. There is no progress score data available to show how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points.

The school offers a solid range of facilities for its size, including a sensory room, music rooms, art studios, a library, a chapel and an outdoor playground. Sports provision covers football, athletics, dance and tennis, while clubs extend to drama, choir, coding, art, book club and gardening. SEND support is well-documented, with provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and hearing impairment. For families considering St Paul's, the key trade-off is between a school that is clearly popular and oversubscribed, but currently navigating an Ofsted improvement journey. It may particularly suit families who value a Church of England ethos, a broad club offer, and a school that serves a diverse socioeconomic intake, but who are comfortable with a setting where academic outcomes at the highest level are not yet a strength.

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