St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School
Preston Road, Withdean, Brighton, BN1 6UT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Constituency
- Brighton Pavilion
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 220
- URN
- 114546
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273553813
About this school
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 220 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Bernadette'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. 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 | 31 | 32 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 74% | 69% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 84% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 69% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 78% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.10 | - | - |
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 Bernadette'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 | Brighton and Hove average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 74% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 213 |
| 2023/24 | 211 |
| 2024/25 | 217 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School compares
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School ranked 11th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 4.5% | 10.6% | 220 | — |
| Balfour Primary School | 71% | 4.7% | 11.3% | 695 | 0.5 miles |
| Stanford Infant School | — | 4.2% | 10% | 197 | 0.6 miles |
| Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School | 72% | 4.2% | 16.1% | 436 | 0.8 miles |
| Downs Junior School | 60% | 5.4% | 16.8% | 495 | 0.9 miles |
| Downs Infant School | — | 5.7% | 11.5% | 289 | 1.0 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)
- 10.6%
- English as an additional language
- 26.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.54%
- Persistent absence
- 6.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Balfour Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Stanford Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Hove
-
Downs Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Downs Infant School1.0 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other schools in Brighton
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School ranks 8th 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Claire Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bernadette'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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School has 220 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 220 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 74% in 2022/23 and 66% 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School ranked 11th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bernadette'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 30 June 2026.