St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School
Lightfoot Street, Hoole, Chester, CH2 3AD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nichola Jevons
- Diocese
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
- Constituency
- Chester North and Neston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 350
- Pupils on roll
- 307
- URN
- 111384
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01244478968
About this school
St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Chester. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 307 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 17 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 48 | 50 | 49 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 76% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 2% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 92% | 96% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 80% | 96% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 86% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 109.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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 Werburgh's and St Columba'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 | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 83% | 57.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 329 |
| 2023/24 | 326 |
| 2024/25 | 312 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School compares
St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School ranked 7th of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 4.1% | 10.6% | 307 | — |
| Hoole Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | 395 | 0.3 miles |
| St Martin's Academy Chester | 96% | 3% | 6.3% | 177 | 0.4 miles |
| Cherry Grove Primary School | 61% | 4.2% | 13% | 274 | 0.5 miles |
| The Grosvenor Park Church of England Academy | 63% | 5.7% | 13.8% | 198 | 0.6 miles |
| Newton Primary School | 53% | 3.8% | 13% | 369 | 0.6 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.58%
- English as an additional language
- 28.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.11%
- Persistent absence
- 9.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hoole Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Chester
-
St Martin's Academy Chester0.4 miles
Primary · Chester
-
Cherry Grove Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Chester
-
The Grosvenor Park Church of England Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Chester
-
Newton Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Chester
Other schools in Chester
St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School ranks 6th of the 34 ranked primary schools in Chester.
- Acresfield Academy Primary
- Ashton Hayes Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Belgrave Primary School Primary
- Boughton Heath Academy Primary
- Capenhurst CofE Primary School Primary
- Cherry Grove Primary School Primary
- Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School Primary
- Christleton Primary School Primary
- Clutton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dee Point Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Chester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Nichola Jevons, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Werburgh's and St Columba'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 many pupils are at St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School?
- St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School has 307 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 350 pupils and 307 on roll (88%), 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 Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
- Does St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 84% 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 Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Cheshire West and Chester?
- St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School ranked 7th of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% 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 Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Werburgh's and St Columba's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Werburgh's and St Columba'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 29 June 2026.