St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy
Longlands Road, New Mills, High Peak, SK22 3BL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Patricia Chapman
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Sponsor
- St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- High Peak
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 121
- URN
- 146260
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01663742412
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in High Peak. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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 24 January 2023, 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 | 22 | 16 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 50% | 70% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 75% | 90% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 81% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 75% | 75% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 104.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.20 | - | - |
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 Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 58.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 70% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 127 |
| 2023/24 | 119 |
| 2024/25 | 118 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 77th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 70% | 3.9% | 25.4% | 121 | — |
| New Mills Primary School | 59% | 4.2% | 20.3% | 216 | 0.2 miles |
| St George's CofE Primary School | 63% | 5.4% | 42.2% | 86 | 0.3 miles |
| Newtown Primary School (High Peak Federation) | 60% | 5.4% | 28.6% | 77 | 0.6 miles |
| Hague Bar Primary School | 40% | 3.9% | 4.3% | 50 | 1.0 miles |
| Thornsett Primary School (High Peak Federation) | 38% | 3.8% | 31.1% | 65 | 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)
- 25.42%
- English as an additional language
- 4.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.85%
- Persistent absence
- 6.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
New Mills Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
St George's CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
Newtown Primary School (High Peak Federation)0.6 miles
Primary · New Mills
-
Hague Bar Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · High Peak
-
Thornsett Primary School (High Peak Federation)1.2 miles
Primary · High Peak
Other schools in High Peak
St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranks 3rd of the 11 ranked primary schools in High Peak.
- Buxworth Primary School Primary
- Chapel-en-le-Frith CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Furness Vale Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Hague Bar Primary School Primary
- Hayfield Primary School Primary
- New Mills Primary School Primary
- St George's CofE Primary School Primary
- Taxal and Fernilee CofE Primary School Primary
- Thornsett Primary School (High Peak Federation) Primary
- Whaley Bridge Primary School Primary
- New Mills Nursery School Nursery
- Chapel-en-le-Frith High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in High Peak.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Patricia Chapman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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 Voluntary Academy?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy has 121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 119 pupils and 121 on roll (102%), 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 Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST RALPH SHERWIN 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 Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 70% 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 Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Derbyshire?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 77th of 246 primary schools in Derbyshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 66% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% 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 Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy'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.