St James' Roman Catholic Primary School
Maybury Close, Petts Wood, Orpington, BR5 1BL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST OSCAR ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Weeks
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Orpington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 216
- URN
- 137958
- Local authority
- Bromley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084678167
About this school
St James' Roman Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Orpington. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 216 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
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong 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 | 32 | 31 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 97% | 94% | 94% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 38% | 48% | 31% |
| Expected standard in reading | 97% | 97% | 94% |
| Expected standard in maths | 100% | 97% | 97% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 94% | 97% | 94% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 112.0 | 110.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 112.0 | 110.0 | 112.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.80 | - | - |
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 James' 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 | Bromley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 97% | 66.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 94% | 65.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 94% | 66.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 2.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 2.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 218 |
| 2023/24 | 216 |
| 2024/25 | 218 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' Roman Catholic Primary School compares
St James' Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 2nd of 68 primary schools in Bromley for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 94% | 2.9% | 4.1% | 216 | — |
| Southborough Primary School | — | — | — | 386 | 0.4 miles |
| Crofton Junior School | 91% | 4.1% | 7.6% | 717 | 0.7 miles |
| Crofton Infant School | — | 3.9% | 2.7% | 590 | 0.8 miles |
| Trinity Church of England Primary School | 64% | 5.5% | 36.5% | 298 | 1.1 miles |
| Perry Hall Primary School | 90% | 5.1% | 8% | 432 | 1.3 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
-
Graded inspection report27 January 2026
- 2 November 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 4.13%
- English as an additional language
- 13.3%
- Overall absence
- 2.93%
- Persistent absence
- 1.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Southborough Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bromley
-
Crofton Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Orpington
-
Crofton Infant School0.8 miles
Primary · Orpington
-
Trinity Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Bromley
-
Perry Hall Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Orpington
Other schools in Orpington
St James' Roman Catholic Primary School ranks 1st of the 23 ranked primary schools in Orpington.
- Chelsfield Primary School Primary
- Crofton Infant School Primary
- Crofton Junior School Primary
- Darrick Wood Infant & Nursery School Primary
- Darrick Wood Junior School Primary
- Downe Primary School Primary
- Farnborough Primary School Primary
- Gray's Farm Primary Academy Primary
- Green Street Green Primary School Primary
- Harris Primary Academy Orpington Primary
- Holy Innocents Catholic Primary School Primary
- Leesons Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St James' Roman Catholic Primary School teach?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Orpington.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' Roman Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St James' Roman Catholic Primary School is Mrs Lisa Weeks, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St James' Roman Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' 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 big is St James' Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School has 216 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St James' Roman Catholic Primary School full?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 216 on roll (99%), 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 James' Roman Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St James' Roman Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Does St James' Roman Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St James' Roman Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St James' Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School is part of ST OSCAR ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St James' Roman Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 97% in 2022/23 and 94% 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 James' Roman Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 2nd of 68 primary schools in Bromley for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 99% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% 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 James' Roman Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St James' Roman Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 2.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' Roman Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' 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 1 July 2026.