St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Rowden Hill, Chippenham, SN15 2AH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE DUNSTAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lucy Buckland
- Diocese
- Diocese of Clifton
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Dunstan Catholic Educational Trust
- Constituency
- Chippenham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 165
- URN
- 149640
- Local authority
- Wiltshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01249460231
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Chippenham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 165 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Mary's 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 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
- Expected 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
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 31 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% | 69% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 54% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 101.0 |
Trends over time
How St Mary's 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 | Wiltshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 56.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 56.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 58.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 165 |
| 2024/25 | 162 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 131st of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 3.7% | 20.1% | 165 | — |
| Ivy Lane Primary School | 64% | 5.3% | 11% | 451 | 0.4 miles |
| Redland Primary School | 68% | 5.1% | 21.4% | 291 | 0.6 miles |
| Frogwell Primary School | 33% | 6.8% | 43.3% | 159 | 0.7 miles |
| Queen's Crescent School | 72% | 4.4% | 11.6% | 411 | 0.7 miles |
| Charter Primary School | — | — | — | 184 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report20 January 2026
- 11 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.14%
- English as an additional language
- 18.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.69%
- Persistent absence
- 4.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ivy Lane Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Chippenham
-
Redland Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Chippenham
-
Frogwell Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chippenham
-
Queen's Crescent School0.7 miles
Primary · Chippenham
-
Charter Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Chippenham
Other schools in Chippenham
St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranks 15th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Chippenham.
- Brinkworth Earl Danby's Church of England Primary Primary
- By Brook Valley CofE Primary School Primary
- Charter Primary School Primary
- Christian Malford CofE Primary School Primary
- Colerne CofE Primary School Primary
- Frogwell Primary School Primary
- Hullavington CofE Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Ivy Lane Primary School Primary
- Kings Lodge Primary School Primary
- Kington St Michael Church of England Primary School Primary
- Lacock Church of England Primary School Primary
- Langley Fitzurse Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Mary's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chippenham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Lucy Buckland, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Mary's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has 165 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 165 on roll (79%), 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 a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Clifton.
- Does St Mary's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Mary's Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School is part of THE DUNSTAN 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 Mary's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2023/24 and 50% 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 compare with other schools in Wiltshire?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School ranked 131st of 174 primary schools in Wiltshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% 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's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's 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 10 July 2026.