Cathedral Primary School

Cathedral Primary School is a welcoming, ambitious school where pupils are happy, feel safe and learn well. The school's 'many voices, one harmony' vision is evident in warm relationships, calm and purposeful lessons, and strong reading and phonics provision. Pupils behave well, attendance is good, and the wider personal development offer is exceptional, including pupil passports, British Sign Language, performances in the cathedral, clubs and 'changemaker' roles. Leadership is effective, trust and governor oversight are secure, staff are well supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. One area for improvement remains: in a few subjects, teachers' checks on learning are not precise enough and teaching is not always adapted to address gaps and misconceptions, so some pupils, including those with SEND, develop gaps in knowledge. The trust is asked to ensure assessment is used consistently to identify gaps and inform future teaching across the curriculum. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic, it is part of Cathedral Schools trust, and as a graded inspection from September 2024 it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum for all pupils, with clearly sequenced knowledge and skills.
• Strong phonics and early reading provision, with expert staff and targeted support for pupils at risk of falling behind.
• Pupils behave well, lessons are calm and purposeful, and attendance is good.
• Exceptional wider personal development offer, including pupil passports, clubs, British Sign Language and cathedral performances.
• Pupils develop character through British values, social issues, responsibilities and 'changemaker' roles.
• Effective trust and governor oversight, with staff workload and wellbeing well supported.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and have warm, respectful relationships with staff.
• Vocabulary is explicitly identified across the curriculum and pupils use subject-specific language confidently.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, assessment checks are not precise and teaching is not always adapted to address gaps and misconceptions, so some pupils do not learn as well.

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 Cathedral Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.2% 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 Cathedral 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 Cathedral Primary School had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.9% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Cathedral Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Cathedral Primary School received £7,595 and spent £7,602 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £331,000 (£789 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Amplify Education, income was £8,102 and spending £8,050 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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Cathedral Primary School is part of Amplify Education, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Bristol Cathedral Choir School Bristol
• Ashton Gate Primary School Bristol
• Hotwells Primary School Bristol
• Victoria Park Primary School Bristol
• Parson Street Primary School Bristol
• St Werburgh's Primary School Bristol
• Henleaze Junior School Bristol
• Henleaze Infant School Bristol
• Headley Park Primary School Bristol
• Trinity Academy Bristol

What is Cathedral Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cathedral Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Cathedral Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cathedral Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Cathedral Primary School have?

Cathedral Primary School has 422 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cathedral Primary School cover?

Cathedral Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cathedral Primary School?

Cathedral Primary School is at College Square, Bristol, Bristol, BS1 5TS.