St Francis Catholic Primary School
Station Road, Nailsea, BS48 4PD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE CARDINAL NEWMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Tim Purser
- Diocese
- Diocese of Clifton
- Sponsor
- The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust
- Constituency
- North Somerset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 142
- URN
- 148962
- Local authority
- North Somerset
- Telephone
- 01275855373
About this school
St Francis Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Nailsea. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 142 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Francis 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
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
- 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 | 20 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 65% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 10% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 97% | 70% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 80% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 65% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 112.0 | 109.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
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 Francis 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 | North Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 83% | 59.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 65% | 59.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 153 |
| 2023/24 | 151 |
| 2024/25 | 143 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Catholic Primary School compares
St Francis Catholic Primary School ranked 20th of 57 primary schools in North Somerset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 5.2% | 14% | 142 | — |
| Golden Valley Primary School | 81% | 3.5% | 8.3% | 401 | 0.3 miles |
| Hannah More Infant School | — | 4.5% | 7.9% | 176 | 0.7 miles |
| Grove Junior School | 65% | 4% | 12.4% | 227 | 0.7 miles |
| West Leigh Infant School | — | 3.2% | 0% | 135 | 0.9 miles |
| Kingshill Church School | 32% | 8.1% | 30.4% | 104 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.99%
- English as an additional language
- 20.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.21%
- Persistent absence
- 13.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Golden Valley Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Hannah More Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Nailsea
-
Grove Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Nailsea
-
West Leigh Infant School0.9 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Kingshill Church School1.0 miles
Primary · Nailsea
Other schools in Nailsea
- Grove Junior School Primary
- Hannah More Infant School Primary
- Kingshill Church School Primary
- Lime Hills Academy Free Schools
Common questions
- What ages does St Francis Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Nailsea.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School is Mr Tim Purser, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Francis Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis 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 Francis Catholic Primary School?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School has 142 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School full?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 142 on roll (68%), 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 Francis Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Clifton.
- Does St Francis Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Francis Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School is part of THE CARDINAL NEWMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Francis Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 69% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in North Somerset?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School ranked 20th of 57 primary schools in North Somerset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis 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 3 July 2026.