English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy is performing well, demonstrating a strong standard in various areas, particularly in safeguarding, attendance, and the personal development of pupils. The school fosters an inclusive, respectful environment where pupils feel valued and safe. There is a notable commitment to promoting personal development through a wide array of extracurricular activities and a robust pastoral support system. Despite high attendance rates and strong behaviour, the school recognizes areas for improvement, particularly in ensuring younger pupils develop foundational writing skills more effectively and addressing misconceptions in learning promptly.

Strengths

• High-quality safeguarding standards that meet all legal requirements.
• Consistently high attendance rates, especially among vulnerable groups.
• Exemplary behaviour and attitudes to learning from pupils.
• Strong personal development and well-being support, emphasizing Catholic values.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum that meets pupil needs well.
• Effective leadership that prioritizes inclusion and safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Some younger pupils do not secure important knowledge and skills as quickly as they could.
• Independent writing opportunities in early years are not as frequent as needed.
• Inconsistent addressing of incorrect letter formation and sentence construction.

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 English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 0.7% of pupils at English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy 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 English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy had 29.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 25.0% of pupils at English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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 2024–25 English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy received £7,205 and spent £7,788 for each of its 152 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £419,000 (-£2,760 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,145 and spending £7,245 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Oakham · Rutland local authority: places and applications

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Saint Francis Catholic Primary School Melton Mowbray
• St Joseph's Catholic Academy Leicester
• St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Bishop Ellis Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy Market Harborough
• Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Saint Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Saint John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy, Wigston, Leicestershire Wigston
• St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy Leicester
• Holy Cross Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy Leicester

What is English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy has 152 pupils on roll.

What age range does English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy?

English Martyrs' Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Willow Crescent, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6EH.