St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School
Hastings Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN40 2ND
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Damien McKeever
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Constituency
- Bexhill and Battle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 211
- Pupils on roll
- 208
- URN
- 114565
- Local authority
- East Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01424735810
About this school
St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Bexhill-on-Sea. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 208 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 30 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 67% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 13% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 80% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 76% | 87% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 87% | 82% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 Magdalene 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 | East Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 69% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 56.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 211 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School ranked 63rd of 131 primary schools in East Sussex 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 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 64% | 4.8% | 10.6% | 208 | — |
| Pebsham Primary Academy | 71% | 4.9% | 31% | 190 | 0.5 miles |
| St Peter and St Paul CofE Primary School | 80% | 4.2% | 18.6% | 420 | 0.8 miles |
| Chantry Community Primary School | 42% | 6.7% | 33.2% | 195 | 0.8 miles |
| King Offa Primary Academy | 70% | 5.8% | 34.4% | 402 | 1.1 miles |
| All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill | 47% | 7% | 47.5% | 282 | 1.2 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)
- 10.58%
- English as an additional language
- 16.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.83%
- Persistent absence
- 10.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pebsham Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea
-
St Peter and St Paul CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea
-
Chantry Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea
-
King Offa Primary Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea
-
All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill1.2 miles
Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea
Other schools in Bexhill-on-Sea
St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School ranks 5th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Bexhill-on-Sea.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill Primary
- Chantry Community Primary School Primary
- Glenleigh Park Primary Academy Primary
- King Offa Primary Academy Primary
- Little Common School Primary
- Pebsham Primary Academy Primary
- St Peter and St Paul CofE Primary School Primary
- Bexhill High Academy Secondary
- St Richard's Catholic College Secondary
- Bexhill College 16 plus
- Bexhill Independent Special School Special schools
- East Sussex Skills Academy Free Schools
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bexhill-on-Sea.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is Mr Damien McKeever, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary Magdalene 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 big is St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School has 208 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School has capacity for 211 pupils and 208 on roll (99%), 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 Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% 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 Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School ranked 63rd of 131 primary schools in East Sussex 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 64% 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 Magdalene Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary Magdalene 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.