St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School

St John’s Cathedral Catholic Primary School has been judged as good overall, with notable strengths in personal development and behaviour and attitudes, which are rated outstanding. After 14 years since its last inspection, the school has adapted to changes in the current inspection framework while maintaining high expectations for its pupils. The school's calm and supportive atmosphere fosters a strong sense of community and encourages a love for learning, which is evident in the pupils' positive engagement and exemplary behaviour. However, the school recognizes that certain aspects of the curriculum, particularly in mathematics and reading support for weaker readers, require improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit outstanding behaviour and attitudes.
• Strong personal development and character building among pupils.
• Dedicated and knowledgeable staff who support all pupils effectively.
• Curriculum designed to be ambitious and engage pupils in a broad range of subjects.
• High levels of parental engagement and satisfaction.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' reasoning in mathematics is not as developed as other areas.
• Support for weaker readers does not always match their needs effectively.
• Strategies for managing staff workload are not fully effective.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.7% of pupils at St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School received £7,387 and spent £7,755 for each of its 230 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £223,000 (£968 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Portsmouth · Portsmouth local authority: places and applications

What is St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School have?

St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School has 237 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School cover?

St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School?

St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School is at Cottage View, Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 1PX.