St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster
Bowerham Road, Lancaster, LA1 4HT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Donna Shoulder
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Constituency
- Lancaster and Wyre
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 207
- URN
- 119584
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0152463934
About this school
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Lancaster. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 207 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 73% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 30% | 28% |
| Expected standard in reading | 90% | 83% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 83% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 80% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 110.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 109.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.80 | - | - |
| 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 79% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 211 |
| 2023/24 | 207 |
| 2024/25 | 206 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster compares
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster ranked 51st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.7% | 11.2% | 207 | — |
| Moorside Primary School | 70% | 3.4% | 10.1% | 570 | 0.1 miles |
| Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 63% | 3.6% | 10.6% | 220 | 0.4 miles |
| Bowerham Primary & Nursery School | 60% | 3.6% | 17.9% | 498 | 0.6 miles |
| The Cathedral Catholic Primary School, Lancaster | 80% | 5.6% | 28.7% | 195 | 1.0 miles |
| Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School | 64% | 4.3% | 16.6% | 201 | 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)
- 11.17%
- English as an additional language
- 21.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.66%
- Persistent absence
- 3.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Moorside Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
Bowerham Primary & Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
The Cathedral Catholic Primary School, Lancaster1.0 miles
Primary · Lancaster
-
Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Lancaster
Other schools in Lancaster
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster ranks 3rd of the 24 ranked primary schools in Lancaster.
- Austwick Church of England VA Primary School Primary
- Bentham Community Primary School Primary
- Bowerham Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Castle View Primary Academy Primary
- Caton Primary School Primary
- Caton St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cawthorne's Endowed School Primary
- Dolphinholme Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ellel St John the Evangelist Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hornby St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Christ Church Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Dallas Road Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster teach?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Lancaster.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster?
- The headteacher of St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is Mrs Donna Shoulder, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster, 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster has 207 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster full?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster has capacity for 210 pupils and 207 on roll (99%), 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster a faith school?
- Yes. St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Does St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 79% in 2022/23 and 79% 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster rank locally?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster ranked 51st of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% 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 Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's absence rate?
- St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School, Lancaster'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.