St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School
Spring Street, Brighton, BN1 3EF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Clayton
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 193
- URN
- 114541
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273327533
About this school
St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 193 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary Magdalen 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 20 | 23 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 23% | 60% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 80% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 65% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 65% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
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 Mary Magdalen 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 | Brighton and Hove average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 23% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 192 |
| 2023/24 | 185 |
| 2024/25 | 191 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School ranked 15th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 5.4% | 43.6% | 193 | — |
| St Paul's CofE Primary School | 76% | 5.9% | 29.7% | 151 | 0.2 miles |
| Middle Street Primary School | 60% | 8.6% | 32.8% | 141 | 0.4 miles |
| Brunswick Primary School | 57% | 4.9% | 21% | 586 | 0.5 miles |
| Carlton Hill Primary School | 74% | 6.9% | 34.9% | 215 | 0.7 miles |
| Stanford Infant School | — | 4.2% | 10% | 197 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report25 June 2025
- 13 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 43.6%
- English as an additional language
- 69.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.44%
- Persistent absence
- 10.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Paul's CofE Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Middle Street Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Brunswick Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Hove
-
Carlton Hill Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Stanford Infant School0.9 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other schools in Brighton
St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School ranks 11th of the 36 ranked primary schools in Brighton.
- Balfour Primary School Primary
- Benfield Primary School Primary
- Bevendean Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brackenbury Primary School Primary
- Carden Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Carlton Hill Primary School Primary
- City Academy Whitehawk Primary
- Coldean Primary School Primary
- Coombe Road Primary School Primary
- Downs Infant School Primary
- Downs Junior School Primary
- Eastbrook Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School is Mrs Sarah Clayton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary Magdalen 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 Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School has 193 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 193 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 Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 23% in 2022/23 and 61% 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 Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- St Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School ranked 15th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% 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 Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary Magdalen 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 Mary Magdalen Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary Magdalen 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 30 June 2026.