St William of York Catholic Primary School

About St William of York Catholic Primary School

St William of York Catholic Primary School in Lewisham holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, but the detail beneath that headline tells a more nuanced story. The school was rated Outstanding in three of the five categories inspected: early years provision, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes, while leadership and management also earned an Outstanding mark. Only the quality of education was judged Good. On the key academic metric for primary schools, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined stood at 57% in the 2023/24 academic year. That is below the Lewisham local authority average of 64%, placing the school 41st out of 59 similar schools in the borough. Nationally, it sits in the 63rd percentile, meaning roughly 37% of primary schools performed better on this measure.

Looking more closely at the individual subject results, the picture is mixed. In reading, 77% of pupils met the expected standard and 43% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 107. Maths saw the same proportion at the expected level, 77%, but only 20% achieved the higher standard, and the average score was 104. Writing was weaker, with 63% at the expected level and just 13% at the higher standard. The school’s Progress 8 scores are not available, so it is difficult to assess how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. Compared with its previous inspection in 2014, when the school was also rated Good overall but had a Requires Improvement grade for early years, the most recent inspection shows clear improvement in that area, now rated Outstanding. The school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections.

The school is a Roman Catholic primary with a nursery provision, serving 205 pupils against a capacity of 210, so it is very close to full. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 76 applications for 22 places, a ratio of 3.45 applicants per place, and all 22 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. Facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, a sensory room, art studios, a library and a chapel. The school offers a range of sports including swimming, tennis and gymnastics, plus clubs such as book club, chess and eco club. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, speech and language needs, social and emotional mental health support, and physical disabilities. For families prioritising a strong Catholic ethos and a school where behaviour and personal development are rated Outstanding, St William of York is a solid local option, though those focused purely on academic outcomes may want to compare it with higher-performing peers in the borough.

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