St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden
Watt Street, Sabden, Clitheroe, BB7 9ED
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Miss Claire Halstead
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 90
- Pupils on roll
- 69
- URN
- 119651
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282771009
About this school
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Clitheroe. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 69 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 24 November 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 43% | 10% | 43% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 60% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 50% | 10% | 57% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 57% | 30% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 95.0 | 97.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.10 | - | - |
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 Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden 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 | 43% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 43% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68 |
| 2023/24 | 62 |
| 2024/25 | 68 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden compares
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden ranked 380th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43% | 5% | 27.9% | 69 | — |
| Sabden Primary School | 50% | 3.4% | 10.9% | 101 | 0.2 miles |
| Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School | 67% | 2.7% | 1.5% | 138 | 1.7 miles |
| Read St John's CofE Primary School | 73% | 4% | 13.5% | 201 | 1.7 miles |
| Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School | 60% | 6.9% | 43.4% | 312 | 2.2 miles |
| Higham St John's Church of England Primary School | 53% | 4.9% | 19.6% | 120 | 2.2 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)
- 27.94%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 5.04%
- Persistent absence
- 10.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sabden Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Sabden
-
Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Burnley
-
Read St John's CofE Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Burnley
-
Padiham St Leonard's Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Padiham, Burnley
-
Higham St John's Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Burnley
Other schools in Clitheroe
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden ranks 11th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Clitheroe.
- Barrow URC Primary School Primary
- Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Chatburn Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Brookside Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Pendle Primary School Primary
- Edisford Primary School Primary
- Gisburn Primary School Primary
- Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary School Primary
- St James' Church of England Primary School, Clitheroe Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Hurst Green Primary
- St Michael and St John's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden teach?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Clitheroe.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden is Miss Claire Halstead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden, 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 Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden has 69 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden full?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden has capacity for 90 pupils and 69 on roll (77%), 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 St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 43% in 2022/23 and 43% 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 Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden rank locally?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden ranked 380th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% 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 Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden's absence rate?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Sabden'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.