St Richard's Catholic Primary School
Castle Avenue, Dover, CT16 1EZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr Colin Taylor
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Sponsor
- Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership
- Constituency
- Dover and Deal
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 191
- URN
- 141497
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01304201118
About this school
St Richard's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Dover. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 191 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Richard's Catholic Primary School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 October 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 | 30 | 26 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 43% | 12% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 50% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 53% | 19% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 38% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 98.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 94.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.90 | - | - |
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 Richard's Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 12% | 60.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 60.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 191 |
| 2023/24 | 187 |
| 2024/25 | 192 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Richard's Catholic Primary School compares
St Richard's Catholic Primary School ranked 170th of 427 primary schools in Kent for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 4.6% | 35.4% | 191 | — |
| Charlton Church of England Primary School | 45% | 6.9% | 45.2% | 206 | 0.2 miles |
| Barton Junior School | 66% | 6.5% | 51.9% | 202 | 0.4 miles |
| Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School | 35% | 9% | 60.5% | 161 | 0.5 miles |
| Guston Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | — | 0.6 miles |
| Priory Fields School | 53% | 8.3% | 65.7% | 319 | 0.7 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)
- 35.42%
- English as an additional language
- 28.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.6%
- Persistent absence
- 8.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Charlton Church of England Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Barton Junior School0.4 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Guston Church of England Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Dover
-
Priory Fields School0.7 miles
Primary · Dover
Other schools in Dover
St Richard's Catholic Primary School ranks 6th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dover.
- Aycliffe Community Primary School Primary
- Barton Junior School Primary
- Charlton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Dover, St Mary's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School Primary
- Green Park Community Primary School Primary
- Guston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Langdon Primary School Primary
- Lydden Primary School Primary
- Nonington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Priory Fields School Primary
- River Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Richard's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Dover.
- Who is the headteacher of St Richard's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Richard's Catholic Primary School is Mr Colin Taylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Richard's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Richard's Catholic Primary School, 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 Richard's Catholic Primary School?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School has 191 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Richard's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 191 on roll (91%), 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 Richard's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Richard's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Does St Richard's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Richard's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Richard's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School is part of KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Richard's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 43% in 2022/23 and 69% 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 Richard's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Kent?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School ranked 170th of 427 primary schools in Kent for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% 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 Richard's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Richard's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Richard's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Richard's Catholic Primary School'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.