St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance
Peverell Road, Penzance, TR18 2AT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Headteacher
- Miss Nichola Teixeira
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- St Ives
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 139
- URN
- 140778
- Local authority
- Cornwall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01736330005
About this school
St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Penzance. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 139 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance, 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 December 2024, 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 | 22 | 20 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 70% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 85% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 100% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 60% | 58% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.20 | - | - |
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 School, Penzance has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cornwall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 56.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 70% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 59.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 154 |
| 2023/24 | 157 |
| 2024/25 | 162 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance compares
St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance ranked 99th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 9.2% | 53% | 139 | — |
| Pensans Community Primary School | 50% | 6.5% | 59.3% | 139 | 0.5 miles |
| Gulval School | 75% | 5.3% | 19.2% | 223 | 0.7 miles |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance | 40% | 6.7% | 40.5% | 141 | 0.9 miles |
| Heamoor Community Primary School | 47% | 6.2% | 31.3% | 201 | 1.0 miles |
| Alverton Primary School | 77% | 5.6% | 20.6% | 386 | 1.0 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)
- 53.02%
- English as an additional language
- 7.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.15%
- Persistent absence
- 29.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pensans Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Gulval School0.7 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
St Mary's CofE Primary School, Penzance0.9 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Heamoor Community Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Penzance
-
Alverton Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Penzance
Other schools in Penzance
St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance ranks 9th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Penzance.
- Alverton Primary School Primary
- Germoe Community Primary School Primary
- Gulval School Primary
- Heamoor Community Primary School Primary
- Ludgvan School Primary
- Madron Daniel Church of England School Primary
- Madron Daniel CofE (VA) School Primary
- Mousehole School Primary
- Nancledra School Primary
- Newlyn School Primary
- Pendeen School Primary
- Pensans Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance teach?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Penzance.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance is Miss Nichola Teixeira, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance, 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 School, Penzance?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance has 139 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance full?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance has capacity for 210 pupils and 139 on roll (66%), 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 Mary's Catholic School, Penzance a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance 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 School, Penzance'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 63% 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 School, Penzance compare with other schools in Cornwall?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance ranked 99th of 209 primary schools in Cornwall for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% 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 School, Penzance's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance's overall absence rate is 9.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic School, Penzance'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 2 July 2026.