St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Bessemer Road East, Swindon, SN2 1PE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST MARY'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL (ACADEMY TRUST), SWINDON
- Headteacher
- Mrs Louise Brown
- Diocese
- Diocese of Clifton
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Swindon North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 410
- Pupils on roll
- 398
- URN
- 137147
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01793523850
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Swindon. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 398 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 November 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 60 | 53 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 78% | 77% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 8% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 87% | 85% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 95% | 91% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 87% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.80 | - | - |
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 | Swindon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 78% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 57.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 57.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 406 |
| 2023/24 | 399 |
| 2024/25 | 409 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 15th of 54 primary schools in Swindon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 5.7% | 9.3% | 398 | — |
| Ferndale Primary School & Nursery | 68% | 5% | 18.3% | 413 | 0.2 miles |
| Even Swindon Primary School | — | 4.2% | 19.5% | 663 | 0.7 miles |
| Rodbourne Cheney Primary School | 80% | 5.2% | 23.9% | 249 | 0.7 miles |
| Moredon Primary School | 83% | 6.3% | 27.9% | 370 | 0.8 miles |
| Gorse Hill Primary School | 74% | 5.1% | 17.3% | 441 | 0.9 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)
- 9.26%
- English as an additional language
- 25.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.69%
- Persistent absence
- 10.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ferndale Primary School & Nursery0.2 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Even Swindon Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Rodbourne Cheney Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Moredon Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Swindon
-
Gorse Hill Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Swindon
Other schools in Swindon
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranks 17th of the 64 ranked primary schools in Swindon.
- Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary Primary
- Abbey Meads Community Primary School Primary
- Ashton Keynes Church of England Primary School Primary
- Badbury Park Primary School Primary
- Beechcroft Infant School Primary
- Bishopstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bridlewood Primary School Primary
- Broad Hinton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broad Town Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brook Field Primary School Primary
- Catherine Wayte Primary School Primary
- Chiseldon Primary & Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Swindon.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Louise Brown, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's 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 Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 410 pupils and 398 on roll (97%), 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 a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Clifton.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School is part of ST MARY'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL (ACADEMY TRUST), SWINDON. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- 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 78% in 2022/23 and 70% 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 compare with other schools in Swindon?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 15th of 54 primary schools in Swindon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% 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's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- 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 1 July 2026.