St James' Catholic Primary School
Lonsdale Road, millom, LA18 4AS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nerissa Nicholas
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 186
- URN
- 112351
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229772731
About this school
St James' Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Millom. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 186 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James' 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 June 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 | 24 | 30 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 67% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 77% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 87% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 80% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.80 | - | - |
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 James' 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 63% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 178 |
| 2023/24 | 176 |
| 2024/25 | 182 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' Catholic Primary School compares
St James' Catholic Primary School ranked 40th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 5.3% | 20.9% | 186 | — |
| Millom Infant School | — | 6.5% | 38.6% | 50 | 0.2 miles |
| Black Combe Junior School | 50% | 6.9% | 32.9% | 89 | 0.6 miles |
| Haverigg Primary School | 50% | 3.7% | 7.4% | 177 | 1.4 miles |
| Askam Village School | 26% | 4.5% | 10.5% | 187 | 2.9 miles |
| Thwaites School | 29% | 3.8% | 34.5% | 28 | 3.3 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)
- 20.88%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.26%
- Persistent absence
- 9.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Millom Infant School0.2 miles
Primary · Millom
-
Black Combe Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Millom
-
Haverigg Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Millom
-
Askam Village School2.9 miles
Primary · Askam-in-furness
-
Thwaites School3.3 miles
Primary · Millom
Other schools in Millom
St James' Catholic Primary School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked primary schools in Millom.
- Black Combe Junior School Primary
- Captain Shaw's CofE School Primary
- Haverigg Primary School Primary
- Millom Infant School Primary
- Millom Infant School Primary
- Thwaites School Primary
- Waberthwaite CofE School Primary
- Parkview Nursery School Nursery
- Millom School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St James' Catholic Primary School teach?
- St James' Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Millom.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St James' Catholic Primary School is Mrs Nerissa Nicholas, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James' Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' 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 James' Catholic Primary School?
- St James' Catholic Primary School has 186 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St James' Catholic Primary School full?
- St James' Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 186 on roll (89%), 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 James' Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St James' Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Does St James' Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St James' Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does St James' Catholic Primary School have?
- The schools register lists St James' Catholic Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St James' Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 64% 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 James' Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- St James' Catholic Primary School ranked 40th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 50% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% 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 James' Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St James' Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' 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.