St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St Columba’s Catholic Primary School has been rated as good overall in its first routine inspection since becoming an academy. The school fosters a warm environment where respect among pupils and towards adults is emphasized, supported by a behavior system rooted in Catholic values. Continuous improvement of the curriculum has been noted, particularly in creating engaging programs to enhance pupils' skills, especially in language and communication. Despite the positive overall performance, the school acknowledges the need to refine curriculum planning to address specific subject areas more effectively.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate respect towards each other and staff.
• The curriculum has been effectively redesigned to enhance learning.
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• High-quality pastoral support available for pupils and families.
• Early years provision is engaging and well-structured.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clearly planned small steps for curriculum content.
• Curriculum knowledge mats do not consistently match essential vocabulary.

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 Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 1.7% of pupils at St Columba's Catholic Primary School, 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 Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 18.8% of pupils at St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.9% 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 Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy received £7,414 and spent £7,629 for each of its 385 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £319,000 (£830 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Academy Trust, income was £7,636 and spending £7,721 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is part of Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St Winefride's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St. Clare's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St Francis Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St William's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School Bradford
• Our Lady and St Brendan's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St Cuthbert and the First Martyrs' Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Bradford
• St Bede's and St Joseph's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Bradford

What is St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy has 420 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy cover?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is at Tong Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 9PY.