St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor
Hustledown, South Moor, Stanley, DH9 6PH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachael Anderson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- North Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 75
- URN
- 148845
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01207232189
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Stanley. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 75 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor, 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 | 19 | 17 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 32% | 47% | 22% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 71% | 50% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 71% | 22% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 71% | 56% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 101.0 | 96.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.10 | - | - |
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, South Moor has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 32% | 58% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 58.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 22% | 60% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 98 |
| 2023/24 | 90 |
| 2024/25 | 82 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor ranked 182nd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 22% | 4.2% | 43.9% | 75 | — |
| South Stanley Junior School | 74% | 6% | 60.1% | 146 | 0.3 miles |
| South Stanley Infant and Nursery School | — | 4.1% | 63.9% | 113 | 0.3 miles |
| Greenland Community Primary School | 75% | 4.1% | 45.1% | 318 | 0.4 miles |
| Bloemfontein Primary School | 67% | 5.1% | 63.4% | 127 | 0.4 miles |
| Stanley Burnside Primary School | 62% | 7.7% | 68.8% | 174 | 0.7 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)
- 43.9%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 4.16%
- Persistent absence
- 7.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
South Stanley Junior School0.3 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
South Stanley Infant and Nursery School0.3 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
Greenland Community Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
Bloemfontein Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Stanley
-
Stanley Burnside Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Stanley
Other schools in Stanley
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor ranks 15th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Stanley.
- Annfield Plain Infant School Primary
- Annfield Plain Junior School Primary
- Beamish Primary School Primary
- Bloemfontein Primary School Primary
- Catchgate Primary School Primary
- Collierley Nursery and Primary School Primary
- East Stanley School Primary
- Greenland Community Primary School Primary
- Shield Row Primary School Primary
- South Stanley Infant and Nursery School Primary
- South Stanley Junior School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary, Stanley Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Stanley.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor is Mrs Rachael Anderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor, 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, South Moor?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor has 75 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor has capacity for 105 pupils and 75 on roll (71%), 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 School, South Moor a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor is part of BISHOP WILKINSON 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, South Moor's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 32% in 2022/23 and 22% 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, South Moor compare with other schools in County Durham?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor ranked 182nd of 185 primary schools in County Durham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 5% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% 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, South Moor's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor'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.