St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Darkinson Lane, Lea Town, Preston, PR4 0RJ
This school is closed (it closed in August 2025).
It was replaced by St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Lea Town. That page has the school's current information.
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs A Brogden
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Constituency
- Preston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 108
- URN
- 119634
- Local authority
- Lancashire
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School was a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It taught children aged 4 to 11 and had 108 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
St Mary's Catholic Primary School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 47% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 7% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 60% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 53% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 73% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 106 |
| 2023/24 | 107 |
| 2024/25 | 108 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 4.7% | 20.4% | 108 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Lea Town | — | — | — | 102 | 0.0 miles |
| Lea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary School | 65% | 5.6% | 20.7% | 138 | 0.9 miles |
| St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, Preston | 58% | 4.2% | 18.1% | 226 | 1.1 miles |
| Lea Community Primary School | 60% | 7.7% | 36.1% | 290 | 1.4 miles |
| Ashton Primary School | 45% | 5.5% | 38.7% | 194 | 1.4 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)
- 20.37%
- English as an additional language
- 2.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.66%
- Persistent absence
- 8.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Lea Town0.0 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Lea Neeld's Endowed Church of England Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Preston
-
St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, Preston1.1 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Lea Community Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Ashton Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
- Alston Lane Catholic Primary School, Longridge Primary
- Ashton Primary School Primary
- Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Barton St Lawrence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bilsborrow John Cross Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brabins Endowed School Primary
- Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School Primary
- Brockholes Wood Community Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Brookfield Community Primary School Primary
- Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School Primary
- Calder Vale St John Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School taught children aged 4 to 11. It was a primary school in Preston.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How many pupils are at St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School had 108 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- 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 60% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- 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 31 August 2025.