Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School
The Upper Drive, Hove, BN3 6NB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Breen
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Hove and Portslade
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 436
- Pupils on roll
- 436
- URN
- 114567
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273555811
About this school
Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Hove. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 436 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cottesmore St Mary'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
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
- 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 | 63 | 64 | 64 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 70% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 91% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 77% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 84% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.20 | - | - |
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 Cottesmore St Mary'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 | 67% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 421 |
| 2023/24 | 433 |
| 2024/25 | 435 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 7th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 4.2% | 16.1% | 436 | — |
| Stanford Infant School | — | 4.2% | 10% | 197 | 0.4 miles |
| Brunswick Primary School | 57% | 4.9% | 21% | 586 | 0.6 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School | 68% | 4.6% | 19.4% | 648 | 0.8 miles |
| Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove | 76% | 4.9% | 14.2% | 614 | 0.8 miles |
| St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | 66% | 4.5% | 10.6% | 220 | 0.8 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)
- 16.09%
- English as an additional language
- 25.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.23%
- Persistent absence
- 5.99%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stanford Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Brunswick Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Hove
-
St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Hove
-
Bilingual Primary School - Brighton & Hove0.8 miles
Primary · Brighton and Hove
-
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other schools in Hove
Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked primary schools in Hove.
- Aldrington CofE Primary School Primary
- Brunswick Primary School Primary
- Goldstone Primary School Primary
- Hangleton Primary School Primary
- Hove Junior School Primary
- St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School Primary
- West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School Primary
- West Hove Infant School Primary
- Blatchington Mill School Secondary
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School Secondary
- Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- King's School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School teach?
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Hove.
- Who is the headteacher of Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Rachel Breen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cottesmore St Mary'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 Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 436 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School full?
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 436 pupils and 436 on roll (100%), 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 Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 7th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cottesmore St Mary'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.