St Mary's Priory Junior School
Ridgeway, Plympton, Plymouth, PL7 1QN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ST CHRISTOPHER'S C OF E (PRIMARY) MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kathryn Catherwood
- Constituency
- South West Devon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 149
- URN
- 137876
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752338199
About this school
St Mary's Priory Junior School is a primary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 149 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Priory Junior 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 53 | 60 | 43 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 72% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 8% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 85% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 83% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 73% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
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 Priory Junior 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 | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 60% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 206 |
| 2023/24 | 192 |
| 2024/25 | 162 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Priory Junior School compares
St Mary's Priory Junior School ranked 31st of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.5% | 18.5% | 149 | — |
| St Mary's Priory CofE Infant & Nursery School | — | 5.1% | 13.7% | 85 | 0.1 miles |
| Boringdon Primary School | 78% | 3.4% | 8.4% | 386 | 0.5 miles |
| Plympton St Maurice Primary School | 56% | 4.4% | 18.3% | 179 | 0.7 miles |
| Woodford Primary School | 77% | 4.3% | 10.5% | 398 | 0.9 miles |
| Chaddlewood Primary School | 83% | 4% | 15% | 383 | 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)
- 18.52%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.54%
- Persistent absence
- 8.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Priory CofE Infant & Nursery School0.1 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Boringdon Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Plympton St Maurice Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Woodford Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Chaddlewood Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
St Mary's Priory Junior School ranks 36th of the 72 ranked primary schools in Plymouth.
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
- Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boringdon Primary School Primary
- Chaddlewood Primary School Primary
- College Road Primary School Primary
- Compton CofE Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary Academy Primary
- Eggbuckland Vale Primary School Primary
- Elburton Primary School Primary
- Ernesettle Community School Primary
- Ford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Priory Junior School teach?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Priory Junior School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Priory Junior School is Mrs Kathryn Catherwood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Priory Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Priory Junior 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 Priory Junior School?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School has 149 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Priory Junior School full?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School has capacity for 240 pupils and 149 on roll (62%), 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 Priory Junior School a faith school?
- No. St Mary's Priory Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does St Mary's Priory Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Priory Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Priory Junior School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School is part of ST CHRISTOPHER'S C OF E (PRIMARY) MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Mary's Priory Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 65% 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 Priory Junior School compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School ranked 31st of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% 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 Priory Junior School's absence rate?
- St Mary's Priory Junior School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Priory Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Priory Junior 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 15 July 2026.