St Finian's Catholic Primary School
The Ridge, Cold Ash, Thatcham, RG18 9HU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Anna Jarratt
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portsmouth (rc)
- Constituency
- Newbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 204
- URN
- 110037
- Local authority
- West Berkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01635865925
About this school
St Finian's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Thatcham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 204 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 22 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 41% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 0% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 68% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 59% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 77% | 84% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +6.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Finian's Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | West Berkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 54% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 54.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 55.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 196 |
| 2023/24 | 200 |
| 2024/25 | 206 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Finian's Catholic Primary School compares
St Finian's Catholic Primary School ranked 8th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 204 | — |
| Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School | 61% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 195 | 0.5 miles |
| Whitelands Park Primary School | 57% | 6.1% | 22.1% | 372 | 1.0 miles |
| Thatcham Park CofE Primary | 51% | 4.2% | 24% | 399 | 1.1 miles |
| Francis Baily Primary School | 58% | 5.5% | 17.8% | 491 | 1.4 miles |
| Parsons Down Infant School | — | 6.5% | 8.9% | 88 | 1.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 3.4%
- English as an additional language
- 9.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.24%
- Persistent absence
- 2.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Whitelands Park Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Thatcham Park CofE Primary1.1 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Francis Baily Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Thatcham
-
Parsons Down Infant School1.6 miles
Primary · Thatcham
Other schools in Thatcham
St Finian's Catholic Primary School ranks 3rd of the 12 ranked primary schools in Thatcham.
- Ashford Hill Primary School Primary
- Cold Ash St Mark's CE Primary School Primary
- Curridge Primary School Primary
- Francis Baily Primary School Primary
- Hampstead Norreys C.E. Primary School Primary
- Hermitage Primary School Primary
- Parsons Down Infant School Primary
- Parsons Down Junior School Primary
- Spurcroft Primary School Primary
- Thatcham Park CofE Primary Primary
- Whitelands Park Primary School Primary
- Yattendon C.E. Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Finian's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Thatcham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Finian's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Finian's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Anna Jarratt, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Finian's Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Finian's Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Finian's Catholic Primary School?
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School has 204 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Finian's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 204 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Finian's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Finian's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Portsmouth (rc).
- Does St Finian's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Finian's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Finian's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Finian's Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School ranked 8th of 52 primary schools in West Berkshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Finian's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Finian's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Finian's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Finian's Catholic Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 15 July 2026.