St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall
Great Lime Road, Forest Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE12 7AB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP BEWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Siobhan Foster
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 208
- URN
- 148980
- Local authority
- North Tyneside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01918142006
About this school
St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 208 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall, 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 19 March 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 73% | 83% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 13% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 90% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 77% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 80% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.20 | - | - |
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 Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall 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 Tyneside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 77% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 57.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 83% | 58.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 200 |
| 2023/24 | 203 |
| 2024/25 | 194 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall compares
St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall ranked 4th of 50 primary schools in North Tyneside for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 83% | 3.5% | 13.4% | 208 | — |
| Forest Hall Primary School | 62% | 5.6% | 44.1% | 148 | 0.1 miles |
| Westmoor Primary School | 73% | 4.1% | 15.4% | 343 | 0.4 miles |
| Ivy Road Primary School | 53% | 7.3% | 51.8% | 115 | 0.4 miles |
| Benton Dene Primary School | 79% | 4.3% | 22.9% | 466 | 0.7 miles |
| Amberley Primary School | 55% | 4.2% | 27.1% | 405 | 0.8 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)
- 13.4%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 3.5%
- Persistent absence
- 3.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Forest Hall Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Westmoor Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Ivy Road Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Newcastle upon Tyne
-
Benton Dene Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Amberley Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall ranks 11th of the 94 ranked primary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Amberley Primary School Primary
- Archbishop Runcie CofE First School Primary
- Archibald First School Primary
- Atkinson Road Primary Academy Primary
- Backworth Park Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill Primary School Primary
- Belsay Primary School Primary
- Benton Dene Primary School Primary
- Benton Park Primary School Primary
- Bridgewater Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall teach?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall?
- The headteacher of St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall is Mrs Siobhan Foster, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall, 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 Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall has 208 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall full?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall has capacity for 210 pupils and 208 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall a faith school?
- Yes. St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Does St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall part of an academy trust?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall is part of BISHOP BEWICK 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 Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 83% 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 Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall compare with other schools in North Tyneside?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall ranked 4th of 50 primary schools in North Tyneside for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 91% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% 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 Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall's absence rate?
- St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall's overall absence rate is 3.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall'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.