St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy
Coventry Road, Market Harborough, LE16 9BZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Bernadette Dabbs
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Constituency
- Harborough, Oadby and Wigston
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 190
- URN
- 138080
- Local authority
- Leicestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01858465359
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Market Harborough. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 190 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. 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 14 March 2025, 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 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 89% | 76% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 3% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 96% | 93% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 86% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 90% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.40 | - | - |
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 Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Leicestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 89% | 60.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 60.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 61.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 203 |
| 2023/24 | 192 |
| 2024/25 | 181 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 68th of 211 primary schools in Leicestershire 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 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 3.9% | 13.8% | 190 | — |
| Market Harborough Church of England Academy | 75% | 3.3% | 14.1% | 392 | 0.2 miles |
| Little Bowden School | 68% | 4.5% | 11.7% | 368 | 0.6 miles |
| Ridgeway Primary Academy | 59% | 5.3% | 12.3% | 234 | 0.8 miles |
| Farndon Fields Primary School | 47% | 4.2% | 14.1% | 410 | 0.8 miles |
| Wellington Place Primary School | — | — | 0% | 52 | 1.1 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)
- 13.81%
- English as an additional language
- 9.9%
- Overall absence
- 3.9%
- Persistent absence
- 8.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Market Harborough Church of England Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Little Bowden School0.6 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Ridgeway Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Farndon Fields Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
-
Wellington Place Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Market Harborough
Other schools in Market Harborough
St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranks 6th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Market Harborough.
- Bringhurst Primary School Primary
- Church Langton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clipston Endowed Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cottingham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Farndon Fields Primary School Primary
- Foxton Primary School Primary
- Great Bowden Academy, A Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hallaton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Little Bowden School Primary
- Lubenham All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Market Harborough Church of England Academy Primary
- Meadowdale Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Market Harborough.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Bernadette Dabbs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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 Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy has 190 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 190 on roll (90%), 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 Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Does St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC 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 Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 89% 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 Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 68th of 211 primary schools in Leicestershire 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 85% 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 Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy'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.