The Cathedral School of St Mary

About The Cathedral School of St Mary

The Cathedral School of St Mary is a Roman Catholic primary in Plymouth, serving 108 pupils from ages 4 to 11. It sits within a local authority that contains 69 primary schools, of which nine hold an Outstanding rating from Ofsted. The school itself ranks 58th in Plymouth on the key stage 2 reading, writing and maths expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half of the LA. Its top-performing local peers include Tor Bridge Primary School, Elburton Primary School and Hooe Primary Academy, all of which score higher on the same metric. The school is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 intake, with 31 applications for 12 places and 12 first-preference offers, giving a ratio of 2.58 applicants per place. This level of demand suggests that for families who share the school's Catholic character, it remains a popular choice despite its middling academic ranking.

Academically, the school's most recent published results from the 2023/24 academic year show that 44% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This is well below the Plymouth LA average of 63%. In individual subjects, 67% reached the expected standard in maths and writing, while 56% did so in reading. At the higher standard, 28% of pupils achieved in reading and 22% in maths, but no pupils reached the higher level in writing or across all three subjects. The school's average scaled scores were 103 in both reading and maths. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2025, the school was judged Good overall, with personal development rated Outstanding. This marks a significant improvement from its previous inspection in November 2022, when it was rated Requires Improvement across most categories. Behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and the quality of education all moved from Requires Improvement to Good.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, art studios, ICT suite, sports hall and chapel. Sports provision includes athletics, gymnastics, cross country and dance, while clubs cover coding, chess, art, book club, choir and film club. The school has identified SEND provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 27 families between September 2024 and September 2025 were overwhelmingly positive: 93% would recommend the school, 92% agreed or strongly agreed their child is happy, and 92% felt their child is safe. The school is led by headteacher Roisin Wright and has capacity for 119 pupils, with 108 currently on roll and 50.9% eligible for free school meals. This is a small, faith-based primary that has recently turned around its Ofsted rating and suits families who prioritise personal development and a supportive community over top-tier academic scores.

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