St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School
Brownedge Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston, PR5 6TA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Daniel Ballard
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 251
- URN
- 119704
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772336650
About this school
St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 251 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 47 | 45 | 46 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 39% | 36% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 51% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 49% | 51% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 53% | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 100.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.70 | - | - |
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 and St Benedict's Roman 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 | 39% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 36% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 52% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 288 |
| 2023/24 | 276 |
| 2024/25 | 267 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 322nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 5.3% | 28.5% | 251 | — |
| Walton-le-Dale Community Primary School | 59% | 3.5% | 16.6% | 446 | 0.3 miles |
| Cuerden Church School, Bamber Bridge | 63% | 5.7% | 28.2% | 195 | 0.4 miles |
| Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School | 20% | 6.8% | 44.1% | 95 | 0.4 miles |
| Lostock Hall Community Primary School | 68% | 3.8% | 13.5% | 422 | 0.8 miles |
| St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale | 53% | 3.9% | 16.5% | 199 | 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)
- 28.46%
- English as an additional language
- 22.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.31%
- Persistent absence
- 12.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Walton-le-Dale Community Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Cuerden Church School, Bamber Bridge0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Bamber Bridge St Aidan's Church of England Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Preston
-
Lostock Hall Community Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Preston
-
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-Dale1.1 miles
Primary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School ranks 80th of the 106 ranked primary 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 and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School is Mr Daniel Ballard, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman 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 St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School has 251 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 251 on roll (80%), 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 and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Does St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 39% in 2022/23 and 52% 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 and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 322nd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% 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 and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's and St Benedict's Roman 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.