St John Fisher Catholic Primary School
Edward Street, Widnes, WA8 0BW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Dickinson
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Widnes and Halewood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 204
- URN
- 111392
- Local authority
- Halton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514247794
About this school
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Widnes. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 204 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher 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 5 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 33 | 33 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 67% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 94% | 82% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 94% | 85% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 82% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.20 | - | - |
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 John Fisher 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 | Halton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 55.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 56.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 59.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 217 |
| 2023/24 | 211 |
| 2024/25 | 204 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Fisher Catholic Primary School compares
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School ranked 27th of 48 primary schools in Halton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 5.4% | 34.3% | 204 | — |
| Moorfield Primary School | 94% | 3.5% | 15.3% | 232 | 0.7 miles |
| Fairfield Primary School | 68% | 4.4% | 34.3% | 582 | 0.7 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Infant School | — | 4.2% | 22.1% | 223 | 0.9 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic Junior School | 62% | 4.4% | 30.9% | 306 | 0.9 miles |
| St Gerard's Catholic Primary and Nursery School | 77% | 5.4% | 50.5% | 236 | 0.9 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)
- 34.31%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.39%
- Persistent absence
- 12.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Moorfield Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Widnes
-
Fairfield Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Widnes
-
St Bede's Catholic Infant School0.9 miles
Primary · Widnes
-
St Bede's Catholic Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Widnes
-
St Gerard's Catholic Primary and Nursery School0.9 miles
Primary · Widnes
Other schools in Widnes
St John Fisher Catholic Primary School ranks 13th of the 19 ranked primary schools in Widnes.
- All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cronton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Ditton Primary School Primary
- Fairfield Primary School Primary
- Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Halebank CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Kingsway Primary Academy School Primary
- Lunts Heath Primary School Primary
- Moorfield Primary School Primary
- Oakfield Community Primary School Primary
- Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St John Fisher Catholic Primary School teach?
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Widnes.
- Who is the headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is Mrs Nicola Dickinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John Fisher Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher 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 John Fisher Catholic Primary School?
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School has 204 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Primary School full?
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 204 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St John Fisher Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St John Fisher Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St John Fisher Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St John Fisher Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 57% 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 John Fisher Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Halton?
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School ranked 27th of 48 primary schools in Halton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% 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 John Fisher Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Fisher Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Fisher 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.