St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston
Springfield Road, Ulverston, LA12 0EA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- MATER CHRISTI MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Clare Rowland-Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Mater Christi Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 120
- Pupils on roll
- 155
- URN
- 149541
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229583449
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Ulverston. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 155 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston, 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 21 | 14 | 23 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 81% | 93% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 21% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 100% | 100% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 93% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 100% | 91% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 111.0 | 111.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Westmorland and Furness average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 81% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 93% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 133 |
| 2023/24 | 147 |
| 2024/25 | 164 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston ranked 41st of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 3.2% | 7.2% | 155 | — |
| Sir John Barrow School | 72% | 4.4% | 18.2% | 235 | 0.3 miles |
| Croftlands Infant School | — | 5.4% | 5.2% | 119 | 0.5 miles |
| Croftlands Junior School | 50% | 6.4% | 15.5% | 152 | 0.5 miles |
| Church Walk CofE Primary School | 69% | 4.8% | 8.1% | 88 | 0.6 miles |
| Pennington CofE School | 65% | 3.8% | 9.4% | 211 | 1.3 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)
- 7.2%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 3.2%
- Persistent absence
- 1.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sir John Barrow School0.3 miles
Primary · Ulverston
-
Croftlands Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Ulverston
-
Croftlands Junior School0.5 miles
Primary · Ulverston
-
Church Walk CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Ulverston
-
Pennington CofE School1.3 miles
Primary · Ulverston
Other schools in Ulverston
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston ranks 5th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Ulverston.
- Church Walk CofE Primary School Primary
- Croftlands Infant School Primary
- Croftlands Junior School Primary
- Leven Valley CofE Primary School Primary
- Lindal and Marton Primary School Primary
- Low Furness CofE Primary School Primary
- Pennington CofE School Primary
- Penny Bridge CofE School Primary
- Sir John Barrow School Primary
- Ulverston Victoria High School Secondary
- Sandside Lodge School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Ulverston.
- Who is the executive headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston?
- The executive headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston is Mrs Clare Rowland-Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston, 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, Ulverston?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston has 155 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston has capacity for 120 pupils and 155 on roll (129%), so it is at or above 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, Ulverston a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston is part of MATER CHRISTI 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 81% in 2022/23 and 65% 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, Ulverston compare with other schools in Westmorland and Furness?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston ranked 41st of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% 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, Ulverston's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston's overall absence rate is 3.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston'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 15 July 2026.