St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast
Buckfast Road, Buckfast, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0EA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sophie Kerswell
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- Central Devon
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 110
- Pupils on roll
- 168
- URN
- 140774
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01364642389
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Buckfastleigh. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 168 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast, 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 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
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Expected 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 | 16 | 15 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 67% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 25% | 7% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 87% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 87% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 87% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 110.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 105.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.40 | - | - |
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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast 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 | 63% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 137 |
| 2023/24 | 138 |
| 2024/25 | 163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast ranked 139th of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 6% | 42.5% | 168 | — |
| Buckfastleigh Primary School | 58% | 5% | 34.7% | 112 | 0.8 miles |
| Ashburton Primary School | 59% | 6% | 20.9% | 161 | 1.9 miles |
| Landscove Church of England Primary School | 85% | 3.8% | 10.3% | 91 | 2.2 miles |
| Broadhempston Village Primary School | 67% | 2% | 11.1% | 43 | 3.8 miles |
| Dartington Church of England Academy | 72% | 4.6% | 17.9% | 286 | 4.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 42.45%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 5.98%
- Persistent absence
- 15.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Buckfastleigh Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Buckfastleigh
-
Ashburton Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
Landscove Church of England Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Nr Ashburton
-
Broadhempston Village Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Totnes
-
Dartington Church of England Academy4.1 miles
Primary · Totnes
Other schools in Buckfastleigh
- Buckfastleigh Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Buckfastleigh.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast is Mrs Sophie Kerswell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast, 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's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast has 168 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast has capacity for 110 pupils and 168 on roll (153%), 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's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 61% 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's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast compare with other schools in Devon?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast ranked 139th of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% 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's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Buckfast'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.