St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree
Gilchrist Way, Braintree, CM7 2SY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Vicky Jackson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brentwood
- Constituency
- Braintree
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 203
- URN
- 115194
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01376320440
About this school
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Braintree. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 203 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
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 | 28 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 59% | 89% | 83% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 21% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 93% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 89% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 89% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 110.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| 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 St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 89% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 83% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 210 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 210 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree compares
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree ranked 33rd of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 83% | 3.3% | 9.1% | 203 | — |
| John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery | 55% | 7.5% | 44.5% | 501 | 0.2 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 52% | 4.1% | 22% | 387 | 0.5 miles |
| Great Bradfords Junior School | 56% | 5.9% | 37.1% | 326 | 0.8 miles |
| Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.6% | 25.9% | 269 | 0.8 miles |
| John Ray Junior School | 62% | 5.5% | 27.8% | 439 | 1.1 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)
- 9.05%
- English as an additional language
- 27.1%
- Overall absence
- 3.31%
- Persistent absence
- 4.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
Great Bradfords Junior School0.8 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School0.8 miles
Primary · Braintree
-
John Ray Junior School1.1 miles
Primary · Braintree
Other schools in Braintree
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree ranks 3rd of the 16 ranked primary schools in Braintree.
- Beckers Green Primary School Primary
- Bocking Primary School Primary
- Cressing Primary School Primary
- Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy Primary
- Great Bardfield Primary School Primary
- Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Great Bradfords Junior School Primary
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery Primary
- John Ray Infant School Primary
- John Ray Junior School Primary
- Lyons Hall School Primary
- Notley Green Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree teach?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Braintree.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree?
- The headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree is Mrs Vicky Jackson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree, 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree has 203 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree full?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree has capacity for 210 pupils and 203 on roll (97%), 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Brentwood.
- Does St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 59% in 2022/23 and 83% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree rank locally?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree ranked 33rd of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 95% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree's absence rate?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree'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.