St Francis Xavier's Primary School
Venns Lane, Hereford, HR1 1DT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Elizabeth Christopherson
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Cardiff
- Constituency
- North Herefordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 215
- URN
- 116884
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01432273941
About this school
St Francis Xavier's Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Hereford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 215 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
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
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong 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 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 84% | 81% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 33% | 23% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 97% | 91% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 90% | 94% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 100% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.90 | - | - |
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 Xavier's 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 | Herefordshire, County of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 73% | 62.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 84% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 81% | 62.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 211 |
| 2023/24 | 216 |
| 2024/25 | 214 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Xavier's Primary School compares
St Francis Xavier's Primary School ranked 10th of 72 primary schools in Herefordshire, County of for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 81% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 215 | — |
| Broadlands Primary School | 38% | 7.4% | 35.9% | 164 | 0.6 miles |
| Holmer CofE Academy | 75% | 3.2% | 9.9% | 417 | 0.7 miles |
| St Thomas Cantilupe CofE Academy | 82% | 3.8% | 26.9% | 231 | 0.7 miles |
| Lord Scudamore Primary Academy | 53% | 4.8% | 17.8% | 507 | 1.1 miles |
| St James' Church of England Primary School | 69% | 3.5% | 17.5% | 219 | 1.3 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
-
Graded inspection report14 April 2026
- 22 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6.07%
- English as an additional language
- 51.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.84%
- Persistent absence
- 5.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Broadlands Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Hereford
-
Holmer CofE Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Hereford
-
St Thomas Cantilupe CofE Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Hereford
-
Lord Scudamore Primary Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Hereford
-
St James' Church of England Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Hereford
Other schools in Hereford
St Francis Xavier's Primary School ranks 5th of the 38 ranked primary schools in Hereford.
- Almeley Primary School Primary
- Broadlands Primary School Primary
- Burghill Community Academy Primary
- Burley Gate CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Pyon CofE Academy Primary
- Clehonger CofE Primary School Primary
- Eardisley CofE Primary School Primary
- Ewyas Harold Primary School Primary
- Garway Primary School Primary
- Hampton Dene Primary School Primary
- Holmer CofE Academy Primary
- King's Caple Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Francis Xavier's Primary School teach?
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Hereford.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Xavier's Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Francis Xavier's Primary School is Mrs Elizabeth Christopherson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Francis Xavier's Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Xavier's 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 Francis Xavier's Primary School?
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School has 215 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Francis Xavier's Primary School full?
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 215 on roll (102%), 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 Francis Xavier's Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Xavier's Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Cardiff.
- Does St Francis Xavier's Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Francis Xavier's Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Francis Xavier's Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 81% 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 Xavier's Primary School rank locally?
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School ranked 10th of 72 primary schools in Herefordshire, County of for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 89% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% 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 Xavier's Primary School's absence rate?
- St Francis Xavier's Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Xavier's Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Xavier's 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 15 July 2026.