St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School
Kirkley Cliff Road, Lowestoft, NR33 0DG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Armstrong
- 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
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 155
- URN
- 142806
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01502565384
About this school
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Lowestoft. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 155 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Roman 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
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 | 29 | 31 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 24% | 55% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 6% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 45% | 74% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 55% | 68% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 48% | 81% | 82% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.30 | - | - |
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 Roman 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 | 24% | 54.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 192 |
| 2023/24 | 189 |
| 2024/25 | 175 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 112th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 4.3% | 15.4% | 155 | — |
| Phoenix St Peter Academy | 58% | 7.6% | 50.5% | 109 | 0.4 miles |
| Red Oak Primary School | 88% | 3.6% | 48.2% | 420 | 0.4 miles |
| Westwood Primary School | 68% | 5.2% | 46.4% | 184 | 0.9 miles |
| Pakefield Primary School | 63% | 4.4% | 19.6% | 274 | 0.9 miles |
| Roman Hill Primary School | 33% | 7.1% | 51.9% | 375 | 1.2 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)
- 15.43%
- English as an additional language
- 21.1%
- Overall absence
- 4.31%
- Persistent absence
- 7.88%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Phoenix St Peter Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Lowestoft, Suffolk
-
Red Oak Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Westwood Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Pakefield Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
-
Roman Hill Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Lowestoft
Other schools in Lowestoft
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School ranks 15th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Lowestoft.
- Blundeston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Carlton Colville Primary School Primary
- Corton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Dell Primary School Primary
- Elm Tree Primary School Primary
- Grove Primary School Primary
- Gunton Primary Academy Primary
- Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Northfield St Nicholas Primary Academy Primary
- Oulton Broad Primary School Primary
- Pakefield Primary School Primary
- Poplars Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Lowestoft.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School is Mrs Helen Armstrong, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Roman 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 Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School has 155 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 155 on roll (74%), 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 Roman Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of East Anglia.
- Does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Roman 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 Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 24% in 2022/23 and 61% 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 Roman Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School ranked 112th of 225 primary schools in Suffolk for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% 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 Roman Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Roman 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.