Holy Cross Catholic Primary School
Millfield Avenue, East Cowes, PO32 6AS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lucie Banks
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portsmouth (rc)
- Constituency
- Isle of Wight West
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 148
- URN
- 118198
- Local authority
- Isle of Wight
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01983292885
About this school
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in East Cowes. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 148 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holy Cross 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. 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- 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 | 24 | 14 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 29% | 50% | 35% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 54% | 71% | 65% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 50% | 58% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 46% | 64% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 101.0 | 99.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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 Holy Cross 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 | Isle of Wight average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 29% | 51.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 50.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 35% | 49.9% | 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% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 146 |
| 2023/24 | 149 |
| 2024/25 | 148 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holy Cross Catholic Primary School compares
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School ranked 33rd of 36 primary schools in Isle of Wight for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% 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 | 35% | 4.3% | 16.2% | 148 | — |
| Queensgate Foundation Primary | 68% | 5.6% | 34.5% | 353 | 1.1 miles |
| Lanesend Primary School | 37% | 5.5% | 47.1% | 346 | 1.3 miles |
| Gurnard Primary School | 62% | 5% | 7.7% | 522 | 1.7 miles |
| Northwood Primary School | 50% | 5.5% | 15.4% | 178 | 2.3 miles |
| Wootton Community Primary School | 59% | 5.5% | 14.3% | 205 | 3.0 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 report20 January 2026
- 6 June 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.22%
- English as an additional language
- 0.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.29%
- Persistent absence
- 11.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queensgate Foundation Primary1.1 miles
Primary · East Cowes
-
Lanesend Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Cowes
-
Gurnard Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Cowes
-
Northwood Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Cowes
-
Wootton Community Primary School3.0 miles
Primary · Ryde
Other schools in East Cowes
- Queensgate Foundation Primary Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Holy Cross Catholic Primary School teach?
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in East Cowes.
- Who is the headteacher of Holy Cross Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is Mrs Lucie Banks, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holy Cross Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holy Cross 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 Holy Cross Catholic Primary School?
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School has 148 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Holy Cross Catholic Primary School full?
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 148 on roll (70%), so it has space against 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 Holy Cross Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Portsmouth (rc).
- Does Holy Cross Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Holy Cross Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Holy Cross Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 29% in 2022/23 and 35% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holy Cross Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Isle of Wight?
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School ranked 33rd of 36 primary schools in Isle of Wight for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% 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 Holy Cross Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holy Cross Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holy Cross 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.