St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Cobden Road, Worthing, BN11 4BD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BOSCO CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gemma Irvine
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Sponsor
- Bosco Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Worthing West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 225
- Pupils on roll
- 253
- URN
- 144401
- Local authority
- West Sussex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01903234115
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Worthing. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 253 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary'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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 35 | 38 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 37% | 61% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 5% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 43% | 74% | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 43% | 68% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 37% | 53% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +5.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 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 | West Sussex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 37% | 53.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 61% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 56.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 246 |
| 2023/24 | 240 |
| 2024/25 | 230 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 127th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54% | 6.4% | 18.7% | 253 | — |
| Heene CofE Primary School | 43% | 5.2% | 23% | 382 | 0.1 miles |
| Homefield Primary School and SSC | 53% | 5.4% | 18.7% | 642 | 0.8 miles |
| Springfield Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.5% | 16.1% | 161 | 0.8 miles |
| Broadwater CofE Primary School | 77% | 4% | 8.2% | 431 | 0.9 miles |
| Elm Grove Primary School, Worthing | 52% | 4.1% | 13.9% | 203 | 1.0 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report8 May 2025
- 16 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 18.7%
- English as an additional language
- 33.5%
- Overall absence
- 6.44%
- Persistent absence
- 19.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Heene CofE Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Worthing
-
Homefield Primary School and SSC0.8 miles
Primary · Worthing
-
Springfield Infant School and Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Worthing
-
Broadwater CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Worthing
-
Elm Grove Primary School, Worthing1.0 miles
Primary · Worthing
Other schools in Worthing
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranks 13th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Worthing.
- Bramber Primary School Primary
- Broadwater CofE Primary School Primary
- Clapham and Patching CofE Primary School Primary
- Downsbrook Primary School Primary
- Durrington Infant School Primary
- Durrington Junior School Primary
- Elm Grove Primary School, Worthing Primary
- English Martyrs Catholic Primary School, Worthing Primary
- Ferring C of E Primary School Primary
- Goring-By-Sea CofE (Aided) Primary School Primary
- Hawthorns Primary School Primary
- Heene CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Worthing.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Gemma Irvine, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary'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 Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 253 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 225 pupils and 253 on roll (112%), so it is at or above 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 a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School is part of BOSCO CATHOLIC EDUCATION 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 Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 37% in 2022/23 and 54% 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 compare with other schools in West Sussex?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 127th of 192 primary schools in West Sussex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% 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's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary'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 10 July 2026.