St Benet's Catholic Primary School
Ringsfield Road, Beccles, NR34 9PQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Patrick Kennedy
- Diocese
- Diocese of East Anglia
- Sponsor
- St John the Baptist Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Lowestoft
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 69
- URN
- 142786
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01502712012
About this school
St Benet's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Beccles. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 69 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 | 11 | 14 | 13 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 36% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 91% | 64% | 62% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 43% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 71% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 99.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| 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 Benet'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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 36% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 78 |
| 2023/24 | 77 |
| 2024/25 | 73 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Benet's Catholic Primary School compares
St Benet's Catholic Primary School ranked 205th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38% | 9.6% | 32.9% | 69 | — |
| The Albert Pye Community Primary School | 82% | 4.7% | 27.2% | 350 | 0.3 miles |
| Ravensmere Infant School | — | 3.1% | 12.9% | 52 | 0.4 miles |
| Beccles Primary Academy | 50% | 7.3% | 48.2% | 148 | 0.9 miles |
| Gillingham St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy | 70% | 4.8% | 26.4% | 41 | 1.4 miles |
| Worlingham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 59% | 4.6% | 11.3% | 324 | 1.5 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)
- 32.88%
- English as an additional language
- 11%
- Overall absence
- 9.57%
- Persistent absence
- 23.53%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Albert Pye Community Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Beccles
-
Ravensmere Infant School0.4 miles
Primary · Beccles
-
Beccles Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Beccles
-
Gillingham St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy1.4 miles
Primary · Beccles
-
Worlingham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.5 miles
Primary · Beccles
Other schools in Beccles
St Benet's Catholic Primary School ranks 8th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Beccles.
- Barnby and North Cove Community Primary School Primary
- Beccles Primary Academy Primary
- Brampton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gillingham St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Glebeland Community Primary School Primary
- Ilketshall St Lawrence School Primary
- Ravensmere Infant School Primary
- Ringsfield Church of England Primary School Primary
- The Albert Pye Community Primary School Primary
- Worlingham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Beccles High School Secondary
- Sir John Leman High School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Benet's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Beccles.
- Who is the headteacher of St Benet's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Benet's Catholic Primary School is Mr Patrick Kennedy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Benet's Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Benet'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 big is St Benet's Catholic Primary School?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School has 69 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St Benet's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 119 pupils and 69 on roll (58%), 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Benet's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of East Anglia.
- Does St Benet's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Benet's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs St Benet's Catholic Primary School?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School is part of ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Benet's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 38% 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School ranked 205th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% 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 Benet's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Benet's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Benet's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Benet'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 2 July 2026.