St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley
Hornchurch Drive, Chorley, PR7 2RJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Patrick Smyth
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 206
- URN
- 119672
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01257262811
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Chorley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 206 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected 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 | 30 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 73% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 90% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 87% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 83% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 110.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| 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 and Nursery, Chorley 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 | 67% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 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 | 3.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 238 |
| 2023/24 | 212 |
| 2024/25 | 202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley ranked 266th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 2.5% | 5.5% | 206 | — |
| Gillibrand Primary School | 66% | 4.8% | 29.4% | 201 | 0.4 miles |
| Buckshaw Primary School | 43% | 5.1% | 37.8% | 210 | 0.8 miles |
| Duke Street Primary School | 38% | 5.4% | 44.8% | 317 | 0.8 miles |
| Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit | 48% | 5.1% | 64% | 200 | 0.8 miles |
| Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School | 71% | 3.5% | 16.1% | 201 | 0.8 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 5.45%
- English as an additional language
- 3.5%
- Overall absence
- 2.5%
- Persistent absence
- 1.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gillibrand Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Buckshaw Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Duke Street Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit0.8 miles
Primary · Chorley
-
Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Chorley
Other schools in Chorley
St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley ranks 29th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Chorley.
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
- Buckshaw Primary School Primary
- Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School Primary
- Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley is Mr Patrick Smyth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley, 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 Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley has 206 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley has capacity for 210 pupils and 206 on roll (98%), 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley as having nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% 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.
- How does St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley rank locally?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley ranked 266th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 100% 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 Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley's overall absence rate is 2.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley'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.