St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School
Beaconsfield Road, Sudbury, CO10 1JP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Maria Kemble
- Diocese
- Diocese of East Anglia
- Constituency
- South Suffolk
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 137
- URN
- 124763
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01787373365
About this school
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Sudbury. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 137 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph'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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 February 2023, 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 | 19 | 26 | 22 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 84% | 81% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 19% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 88% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 88% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 81% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 108.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
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 Joseph'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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 84% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 162 |
| 2023/24 | 165 |
| 2024/25 | 157 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School compares
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 46th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 5.5% | 16.6% | 137 | — |
| Tudor Church of England Primary School, Sudbury | 53% | 5.3% | 28% | 268 | 0.3 miles |
| St Gregory Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 64% | 4.4% | 26.7% | 227 | 0.4 miles |
| Woodhall Primary School | 78% | 5% | 34.2% | 448 | 0.6 miles |
| Pot Kiln Primary School | 47% | 7.4% | 31.5% | 236 | 1.0 miles |
| Wells Hall Primary School | 65% | 5.1% | 20.9% | 494 | 1.6 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)
- 16.56%
- English as an additional language
- 19.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.5%
- Persistent absence
- 14.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Tudor Church of England Primary School, Sudbury0.3 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
St Gregory Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
Woodhall Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
Pot Kiln Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
Wells Hall Primary School1.6 miles
Primary · Sudbury
Other schools in Sudbury
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School ranks 6th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Sudbury.
- Acton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boxford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cavendish Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clare Community Primary School Primary
- Glemsford Primary Academy Primary
- Great Waldingfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Hundon Community Primary School Primary
- Lavenham Community Primary School Primary
- Long Melford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Pot Kiln Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's Bulmer Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Sudbury.
- Who is the executive headteacher of St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- The executive headteacher of St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School is Mrs Maria Kemble, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph'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 Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School has 137 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School full?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 137 on roll (65%), 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 Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of East Anglia.
- Does St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Joseph'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 84% in 2022/23 and 73% 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 Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 46th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 47% 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 Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph'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.