St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School
Pennywell Road, Bristol, BS5 0TJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE CARDINAL NEWMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachael James
- Diocese
- Diocese of Clifton
- Sponsor
- The Cardinal Newman Catholic Educational Trust
- Constituency
- Bristol East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 125
- URN
- 149915
- Local authority
- Bristol, City of
- Telephone
- 01173772260
About this school
St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 125 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas of Tolentine 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
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- 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 | 25 | 21 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 33% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 48% |
| Expected standard in maths | 44% | 57% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 52% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 99.0 |
Trends over time
How St Nicholas of Tolentine 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 | Bristol, City of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 51.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 52.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 33% | 55.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 137 |
| 2024/25 | 135 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School compares
St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School ranked 86th of 92 primary schools in Bristol, City of for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 8% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 33% | 6.8% | 65.9% | 125 | — |
| Easton CofE Primary School | 52% | 7% | 58.9% | 386 | 0.2 miles |
| Cabot Primary School | 48% | 6.3% | 51.8% | 197 | 0.3 miles |
| Hannah More Primary School | 32% | 8.8% | 49.8% | 206 | 0.4 miles |
| Evergreen Primary Academy | 89% | 6.4% | 46.6% | 163 | 0.5 miles |
| E-Act Bannerman Road Community Academy | 58% | 5.7% | 56.2% | 401 | 0.6 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 report17 March 2026
- 15 June 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 65.93%
- English as an additional language
- 63.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.82%
- Persistent absence
- 25.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Easton CofE Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Cabot Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Hannah More Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
Evergreen Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Bristol
-
E-Act Bannerman Road Community Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School ranks 191st of the 198 ranked primary schools in Bristol.
- Abbotswood Primary School Primary
- Air Balloon Hill Primary School Primary
- Ashley Down Primary School Primary
- Ashton Gate Primary School Primary
- Ashton Vale Primary School Primary
- Avanti Gardens School Primary
- Avonmouth Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Backwell Church of England Junior School Primary
- Badocks Wood E-ACT Academy Primary
- Bailey's Court Primary School Primary
- Barley Close Community Primary School Primary
- Barrs Court Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is Mrs Rachael James, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Nicholas of Tolentine 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 Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School has 125 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School full?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 125 on roll (60%), 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 of Tolentine Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Clifton.
- Does St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Is St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine 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 Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2023/24 and 33% 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 of Tolentine Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Bristol, City of?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School ranked 86th of 92 primary schools in Bristol, City of for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 8% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% 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 of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Nicholas of Tolentine 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.