St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Church Road, Portslade, Brighton, BN41 1LB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Clayton
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Constituency
- Hove and Portslade
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 208
- URN
- 114570
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273418416
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Brighton. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 208 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 September 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 33 | 29 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 76% | 66% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 7% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 93% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 85% | 72% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 90% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 110.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.60 | - | - |
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'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 | 76% | 55.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 66% | 56% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 55.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 209 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 212 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 14th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 5.4% | 29.3% | 208 | — |
| Benfield Primary School | 50% | 6.8% | 37% | 209 | 0.4 miles |
| Brackenbury Primary School | 55% | 5.7% | 38.1% | 185 | 0.5 miles |
| St Nicolas CofE Primary School | 59% | 4.5% | 16.6% | 416 | 0.6 miles |
| Eastbrook Primary Academy | 68% | 6.4% | 20.1% | 364 | 0.7 miles |
| Peter Gladwin Primary School | 77% | 5.9% | 21.4% | 195 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.25%
- English as an additional language
- 25.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.35%
- Persistent absence
- 8.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Benfield Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Brackenbury Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
St Nicolas CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Eastbrook Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Brighton
-
Peter Gladwin Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Brighton
Other schools in Brighton
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranks 10th 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's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Brighton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Sarah Clayton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 208 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 208 on roll (95%), 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's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have 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 76% in 2022/23 and 63% 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's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 14th of 43 primary schools in Brighton and Hove for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% 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's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary's 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's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, 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.