St Nicholas Catholic Academy
Orthes Street, Liverpool, L3 5XF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOSEPH CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James King
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Liverpool Riverside
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 157
- URN
- 149132
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01517095532
About this school
St Nicholas Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 157 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas Catholic 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 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 56% | 45% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 18% | 22% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 72% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 78% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 61% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.40 | - | - |
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 Nicholas Catholic 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 | Liverpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 52.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 45% | 55.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 194 |
| 2023/24 | 186 |
| 2024/25 | 188 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Nicholas Catholic Academy compares
St Nicholas Catholic Academy ranked 85th of 107 primary schools in Liverpool for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45% | 7.1% | 34.3% | 157 | — |
| Pleasant Street Primary School | 64% | 3.9% | 40% | 225 | 0.1 miles |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery | 66% | 4.8% | 37.5% | 235 | 0.5 miles |
| St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School | 40% | 5% | 28% | 228 | 0.6 miles |
| St Anne's Catholic Primary School | 64% | 4.2% | 56.7% | 206 | 0.7 miles |
| Holy Cross Catholic Primary School | 52% | 7.3% | 43.5% | 192 | 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)
- 34.27%
- English as an additional language
- 78.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.12%
- Persistent absence
- 28.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pleasant Street Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Liverpool
-
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Liverpool
-
St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Liverpool
-
St Anne's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Liverpool
-
Holy Cross Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
St Nicholas Catholic Academy ranks 150th of the 176 ranked primary schools in Liverpool.
- Aintree Davenhill Primary School Primary
- All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Anfield Road Primary School Primary
- Arnot St Mary CofE Primary School Primary
- Banks Road Primary School Primary
- Barlows Primary School Primary
- Bedford Primary School Primary
- Belle Vale Community Primary School Primary
- Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School, Woolton Primary
- Blacklow Brow School Primary
- Blackmoor Park Infants' School Primary
- Blackmoor Park Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Nicholas Catholic Academy teach?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of St Nicholas Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Nicholas Catholic Academy is Mr James King, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Nicholas Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas Catholic 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 Nicholas Catholic Academy?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy has 157 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Nicholas Catholic Academy full?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 157 on roll (75%), 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 Nicholas Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Nicholas Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Nicholas Catholic Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Nicholas Catholic Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is St Nicholas Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy is part of ST JOSEPH 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 Nicholas Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 45% 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 Nicholas Catholic Academy compare with other schools in Liverpool?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy ranked 85th of 107 primary schools in Liverpool for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% 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 Nicholas Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Nicholas Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Nicholas Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Nicholas Catholic 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.