St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy
Swires Road, Halifax, HX1 2ER
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jenna Walker
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Constituency
- Halifax
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 272
- URN
- 148657
- Local authority
- Calderdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01422362365
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Halifax. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 272 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 45 | 42 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 60% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 83% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 71% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 90% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.60 | - | - |
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 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 | Calderdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 58% | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 57.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 62% | 60.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 302 |
| 2023/24 | 302 |
| 2024/25 | 287 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy ranked 43rd of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62% | 5.1% | 27.5% | 272 | — |
| Parkinson Lane Community Primary School | 61% | 5.4% | 35.6% | 535 | 0.4 miles |
| Holy Trinity Primary School, A Church of England Academy | 61% | 5.3% | 26.4% | 330 | 0.4 miles |
| Savile Park Primary School | 42% | 6% | 29.4% | 348 | 0.4 miles |
| Beech Hill School | 62% | 5.2% | 38.5% | 571 | 0.6 miles |
| St Augustine's CofE School | 36% | 8.3% | 64.6% | 156 | 0.6 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 27.53%
- English as an additional language
- 50.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.13%
- Persistent absence
- 11.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parkinson Lane Community Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Holy Trinity Primary School, A Church of England Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Savile Park Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
Beech Hill School0.6 miles
Primary · Halifax
-
St Augustine's CofE School0.6 miles
Primary · Halifax
Other schools in Halifax
St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy ranks 22nd of the 41 ranked primary schools in Halifax.
- Abbey Park Academy Primary
- All Saints' CofE Primary School Primary
- Ash Green Community Primary School Primary
- Barkisland CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill School Primary
- Bowling Green Academy Primary
- Bradshaw Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Pellon CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Copley Primary School Primary
- Dean Field Community Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Primary School, A Church of England Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Halifax.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy is Mrs Jenna Walker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary 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 Primary Academy?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy has 272 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy has capacity for 315 pupils and 272 on roll (86%), 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 Catholic Primary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy is part of BLESSED PETER SNOW CATHOLIC 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 Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 62% 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 Academy compare with other schools in Calderdale?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy ranked 43rd of 76 primary schools in Calderdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% 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 Academy's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary 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 3 July 2026.