St Philip's Catholic Primary School

About St Philip's Catholic Primary School

St Philip's Catholic Primary School in Leeds is a state primary with a clear sense of demand. The school has 228 pupils on roll against a capacity of 262, so it is not full to the brim, but the admissions data tells a different story. For its 30 places in the 2025/26 intake, the school received 88 applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.93. Of those, 36 were first-preference applications, and 29 first-preference offers were made, meaning nearly every first-choice family secured a place. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 15%, which is below the national average for primary schools and suggests a relatively less deprived intake than many schools in the Leeds authority. The school is Roman Catholic by religious character, which will shape its admissions criteria, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three, feeding into the main school from Reception upwards.

Academically, St Philip's performs very strongly. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 87% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the Leeds local authority average of 61%. The school ranks 3rd out of 204 primary schools in Leeds on this metric, placing it in the top 5% nationally. Individual subject scores are solid: 90% reached the expected standard in both reading and maths, and 94% in writing. At the higher standard, 16% of pupils achieved the top marks across all three subjects. Average scaled scores of 108 in both reading and maths are comfortably above the national benchmark of 100. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2023, rated it Good overall and Good across every category including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a consistent Good rating, with the previous inspection in 2012 also awarding Good.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including a forest school, chapel, library, music rooms, art studios, an ICT suite, and playing fields. Sports provision covers gymnastics, rounders, dance and cross country, while clubs include coding, art, gardening, science, choir and book club. SEND support is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate to profound learning difficulties, speech and language needs, visual impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. For families considering St Philip's, the key takeaway is that it is a high-performing, oversubscribed Catholic primary with strong academic outcomes and a wide range of enrichment. The school suits families who prioritise a faith-based education and are comfortable with the competitive admissions process, particularly those living within the catchment area or with a church connection. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Morley Newlands Academy, 2.3 km away, but St Philip's own Good rating and top-tier results make it a compelling choice in its own right.

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