St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School
St. James the Great School, Windsor Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8HJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST BENEDICT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Andrew
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Streatham and Croydon North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 447
- URN
- 137959
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02087713424
About this school
St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Thornton Heath. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 447 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- 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 | 58 | 54 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 74% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 17% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 95% | 89% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 85% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 97% | 87% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -4.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.40 | - | - |
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 the Great RC Primary and Nursery 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 | Croydon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 60.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 62.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 67.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 436 |
| 2023/24 | 431 |
| 2024/25 | 448 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School compares
St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School ranked 39th of 77 primary schools in Croydon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 3.7% | 19.4% | 447 | — |
| Beulah Junior School | 59% | 6.1% | 51.6% | 215 | 0.3 miles |
| Beulah Infants' School | — | 7% | 48.8% | 197 | 0.3 miles |
| St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy | 51% | 4.2% | 19.9% | 216 | 0.3 miles |
| David Livingstone Academy | 88% | 5.5% | 32.7% | 198 | 0.4 miles |
| Kensington Avenue Primary School | 64% | 6% | 24.7% | 459 | 0.4 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)
- 19.37%
- English as an additional language
- 36.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.67%
- Persistent absence
- 4.19%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Beulah Junior School0.3 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
Beulah Infants' School0.3 miles
Primary · London
-
St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
David Livingstone Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
-
Kensington Avenue Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Thornton Heath
Other schools in Thornton Heath
St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School ranks 7th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Thornton Heath.
- Beulah Junior School Primary
- David Livingstone Academy Primary
- Ecclesbourne Primary School Primary
- Gonville Academy Primary
- Kensington Avenue Primary School Primary
- Paxton Academy Sports And Science Primary
- St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Infant School Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Junior School Primary
- Winterbourne Boys' Academy Primary
- Winterbourne Junior Girls' School Primary
- Winterbourne Nursery and Infants' School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School teach?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Thornton Heath.
- Who is the headteacher of St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School is Mr Christopher Andrew, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery 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 James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School has 447 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School full?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 420 pupils and 447 on roll (106%), so it is at or above 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 James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- Yes. St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Does St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- Is St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School part of an academy trust?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School is part of ST BENEDICT 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 the Great RC Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 71% 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 the Great RC Primary and Nursery School compare with other schools in Croydon?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School ranked 39th of 77 primary schools in Croydon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% 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 the Great RC Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery 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.