St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage
Northbrook Road, Swanage, BH19 1QE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr Alan Frame
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- South Dorset
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 175
- URN
- 140780
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01929424909
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Swanage. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 175 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 28 | 28 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 61% | 75% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 11% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 79% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 86% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 54% | 71% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 108.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.70 | - | - |
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, Swanage has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 188 |
| 2023/24 | 184 |
| 2024/25 | 180 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage ranked 29th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 6.1% | 19.4% | 175 | — |
| Swanage Primary School | 47% | 6.7% | 18.3% | 222 | 1.1 miles |
| Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School | 43% | 7.4% | 40.8% | 89 | 1.1 miles |
| St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers | 67% | 4.3% | 14.9% | 85 | 1.8 miles |
| Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School | 57% | 6.3% | 12.9% | 87 | 4.0 miles |
| Lilliput Church of England Infant School | — | 3.7% | 2.7% | 343 | 6.1 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)
- 19.44%
- English as an additional language
- 11.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.13%
- Persistent absence
- 18.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Swanage Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton Matravers1.8 miles
Primary · Swanage
-
Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School4.0 miles
Primary · Wareham
-
Lilliput Church of England Infant School6.1 miles
Primary · Poole
Other schools in Swanage
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Swanage.
- Who is the acting headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage?
- The acting headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage is Mr Alan Frame, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage, 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage has 175 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage has capacity for 210 pupils and 175 on roll (83%), 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 Primary School, Swanage a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage 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, Swanage's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 61% in 2022/23 and 65% 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, Swanage rank locally?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage ranked 29th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% 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, Swanage's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage'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.