St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy

St Hugh’s Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy is a good school where high expectations, a broad and carefully constructed curriculum, and a strong Catholic ethos underpin pupils’ education. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection as an academy, following a longer-than-usual gap because the predecessor school had been exempt from routine inspection; the predecessor was previously judged outstanding. The school is part of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi Academy Trust, and inspectors found effective support from both governors and the trust. Pupils are polite, kind and confident, behave well, attend regularly and benefit from strong personal development and reading provision. Safeguarding is effective, and staff care for pupils exceptionally well.

Strengths

• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully mapped from Reception to Year 6.
• Staff have secure subject knowledge and typically present new learning clearly.
• Reading is prioritised, with a consistent approach to early reading and good support for pupils who struggle.
• Pupils with SEND are identified without delay and the school is ambitious for them to access the same curriculum.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and kind, and act as excellent ambassadors for the school.
• Personal development is well considered, with opportunities in the arts, sport, charity work and responsibility.
• Staff care for pupils exceptionally well and pupils flourish in a safe, happy environment.
• Governors are knowledgeable and use their experience well to challenge and support leaders.
• The trust provides effective support and leaders consider staff workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching strategies to support pupils with SEND are not fully embedded, so some pupils do not consistently get the help they need to learn the intended curriculum.
• Staff do not always check pupils’ understanding effectively, meaning some misconceptions or knowledge gaps are not spotted before pupils move on to new learning.

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 Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.8% 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 Hugh's Catholic Primary, A 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 St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy had 25.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 16.5% of pupils at St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy received £7,017 and spent £7,553 for each of its 277 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £120,000 (£434 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,555 and spending £7,362 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 Lincoln · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy is part of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 35 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter and St Paul, Catholic Voluntary Academy Lincoln
• Our Lady of Lincoln Catholic Primary School A Voluntary Academy Lincoln
• Holy Trinity Catholic Voluntary Academy Newark
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Nursery School Newark
• Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Sleaford
• Saint Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Grantham
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Mansfield
• St Mary's Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy (Brigg) Brigg
• St Bede's Catholic Voluntary Academy Scunthorpe
• St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy Scunthorpe

What is St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy has 267 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy?

St Hugh's Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy is at Woodfield Avenue, Doddington Park, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN6 0SH.