The Cathedral School of St Mary
Cecil Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth, PL1 5HW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Roisin Wright
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 102
- URN
- 140785
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752265270
About this school
The Cathedral School of St Mary is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 102 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 15 | 18 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 33% | 44% | 47% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 47% | 56% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 60% | 67% | 47% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 53% | 72% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 100.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 103.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.40 | - | - |
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 The Cathedral School of St Mary has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 33% | 54.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 58.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 47% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 113 |
| 2023/24 | 109 |
| 2024/25 | 108 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Cathedral School of St Mary compares
The Cathedral School of St Mary ranked 59th of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% 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 | 47% | 6.1% | 50.9% | 102 | — |
| St Peter's CofE Primary School | 67% | 4.5% | 52% | 192 | 0.2 miles |
| Pilgrim Primary Academy | 70% | 4.4% | 41.2% | 361 | 0.2 miles |
| Stuart Road Primary Academy | 67% | 4.7% | 30.1% | 185 | 0.4 miles |
| St Andrew's Cof E VA Primary School | 73% | 4.2% | 27.5% | 190 | 0.4 miles |
| High Street Primary Academy | 63% | 6.8% | 56.8% | 214 | 0.5 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)
- 50.93%
- English as an additional language
- 37%
- Overall absence
- 6.1%
- Persistent absence
- 23.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Peter's CofE Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Pilgrim Primary Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
Stuart Road Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
St Andrew's Cof E VA Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Plymouth
-
High Street Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
The Cathedral School of St Mary ranks 65th of the 72 ranked primary schools in Plymouth.
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
- Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School Primary
- Boringdon Primary School Primary
- Chaddlewood Primary School Primary
- College Road Primary School Primary
- Compton CofE Primary School Primary
- Drake Primary Academy Primary
- Eggbuckland Vale Primary School Primary
- Elburton Primary School Primary
- Ernesettle Community School Primary
- Ford Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Cathedral School of St Mary teach?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the executive headteacher of The Cathedral School of St Mary?
- The executive headteacher of The Cathedral School of St Mary is Mrs Roisin Wright, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Cathedral School of St Mary last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Cathedral School of St Mary, 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 The Cathedral School of St Mary?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary has 102 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is The Cathedral School of St Mary full?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary has capacity for 119 pupils and 102 on roll (86%), 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 The Cathedral School of St Mary a faith school?
- Yes. The Cathedral School of St Mary is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Does The Cathedral School of St Mary have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records The Cathedral School of St Mary as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs The Cathedral School of St Mary?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary 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 The Cathedral School of St Mary's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 33% in 2022/23 and 47% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Cathedral School of St Mary rank locally?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary ranked 59th of 66 primary schools in Plymouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 18% 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 The Cathedral School of St Mary's absence rate?
- The Cathedral School of St Mary's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Cathedral School of St Mary's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Cathedral School of St Mary'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.