Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple
Chanters Hill, Barnstaple, EX32 8DN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Principal
- Mr Rob Meech
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- North Devon
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 214
- URN
- 140739
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01271345164
About this school
Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Barnstaple. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 214 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 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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 32 | 30 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 0% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 67% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 57% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 57% | 66% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 257 |
| 2023/24 | 242 |
| 2024/25 | 223 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple compares
Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple ranked 203rd of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 5% | 32.8% | 214 | — |
| Ashleigh CofE Primary School | 79% | 7.6% | 42.1% | 205 | 0.2 miles |
| Yeo Valley Primary School | 43% | 6.7% | 48.5% | 193 | 0.3 miles |
| Eden Park Academy | 54% | 6.3% | 52.8% | 118 | 0.5 miles |
| Newport Community School Primary Academy | 52% | 5% | 19.5% | 469 | 0.7 miles |
| Pilton Infants' Academy | — | 6.1% | 18.6% | 172 | 0.8 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)
- 32.82%
- English as an additional language
- 16.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.97%
- Persistent absence
- 11.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ashleigh CofE Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
-
Yeo Valley Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
-
Eden Park Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
-
Newport Community School Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
-
Pilton Infants' Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
Other schools in Barnstaple
Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple ranks 14th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Barnstaple.
- Ashleigh CofE Primary School Primary
- Bishops Tawton Primary School Primary
- Bratton Fleming Community Primary School Primary
- Brayford Academy Primary
- Eden Park Academy Primary
- Filleigh Community Primary School Primary
- Fremington Primary School Primary
- Goodleigh Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holywell Church of England School Primary
- Horwood and Newton Tracey Community Primary School Primary
- Kentisbury Primary School Primary
- Landkey Community Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple teach?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Barnstaple.
- Who is the principal of Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple?
- The principal of Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple is Mr Rob Meech, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple, 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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple has 214 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple full?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple has capacity for 218 pupils and 214 on roll (98%), 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 Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple a faith school?
- Yes. Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple is part of PLYMOUTH CAST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple'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 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple rank locally?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple ranked 203rd of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple's absence rate?
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Barnstaple'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.