St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School
Melbourn Road, Royston, SG8 7DB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Mrs Louise Cooke
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 227
- URN
- 138292
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01763246021
About this school
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Royston. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 227 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary Roman 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 79% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 7% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 86% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 82% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 79% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 108.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 110.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.80 | - | - |
| 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 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 79% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 61% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 231 |
| 2023/24 | 234 |
| 2024/25 | 236 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 138th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 4.6% | 7.7% | 227 | — |
| Icknield Walk First School | — | 4.2% | 10.1% | 335 | 0.3 miles |
| Tannery Drift School | — | 3.4% | 9.7% | 320 | 0.4 miles |
| Studlands Rise First School | — | 4.4% | 9.8% | 170 | 0.4 miles |
| Roman Way Academy | — | 5.9% | 24% | 219 | 0.6 miles |
| Bassingbourn Primary School | 52% | 4.9% | 20.3% | 326 | 2.4 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 7.66%
- English as an additional language
- 24.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.63%
- Persistent absence
- 9.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Icknield Walk First School0.3 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Tannery Drift School0.4 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Studlands Rise First School0.4 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Roman Way Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Royston
-
Bassingbourn Primary School2.4 miles
Primary · Royston
Other schools in Royston
St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School ranks 3rd of the 9 ranked primary schools in Royston.
- Barley (VA) Church of England First School Primary
- Bassingbourn Primary School Primary
- Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School Primary
- Fowlmere Primary School Primary
- Icknield Walk First School Primary
- Melbourn Primary School Primary
- Petersfield CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- Reed First School Primary
- Roman Way Academy Primary
- Steeple Morden CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Studlands Rise First School Primary
- Tannery Drift School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Royston.
- Who is the head teacher of St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School?
- The head teacher of St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School is Mrs Louise Cooke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary 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 many pupils are at St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School has 227 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 227 on roll (108%), 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 Mary Roman Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Does St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School is part of THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER 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 Roman Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 69% 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 Roman Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Hertfordshire?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 138th of 339 primary schools in Hertfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% 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 Roman Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary Roman Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary 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.