St Marie's Catholic Primary School

St Marie’s Catholic Primary School is a 3–11 academy within the Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company. This was its first section 5 inspection since conversion, although its predecessor school was judged good. Inspectors judged all key areas—quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision—to be good. Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well, and relationships between pupils and adults are strong and caring. Leadership has driven significant improvement since joining the trust, with strong support from the trust and effective governance. Mathematics is a notable strength, with clear teaching, effective modelling and strong early years practice. Pupils with SEND are well supported and access the full curriculum. The school’s phonics and reading approach is helping pupils read with confidence and fluency, attendance work is effective, and personal development is well considered, with a wide range of enrichment activities and pupil responsibilities. Historically low outcomes are improving. The main area for development is the wider curriculum. In some foundation subjects, essential knowledge is not yet clearly identified or sequenced, so pupils can have gaps in their knowledge and struggle to connect new learning with what they already know. Leaders should continue refining the curriculum to specify the precise knowledge pupils need and the order in which it should be taught.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well in class and around school.
• Leadership has a clear, ambitious improvement plan and is well supported by the trust.
• Mathematics is a strength, with clear explanation, effective modelling and strong early years practice.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and well supported to access the full curriculum.
• The phonics and reading approach is improving pupils’ confidence and fluency.
• Attendance is prioritised and effective systems help improve pupils’ attendance.
• Personal development is well considered, with enrichment, pupil responsibilities and safety education.
• Governors and trustees understand their roles and hold leaders to account effectively.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, essential knowledge is not yet clearly identified or sequenced.
• Pupils can develop gaps in knowledge and struggle to connect new learning to prior 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 Marie's Catholic Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.0% 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, 1.3% of pupils at St Marie's Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Marie's Catholic Primary School had 25.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.7% 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, 16.4% of pupils at St Marie's Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Marie's Catholic Primary School received £7,013 and spent £6,554 for each of its 392 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £267,000 (£681 per pupil).

Across all 24 schools of St Raphael the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,227 and spending £7,273 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 Rugby · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

St Marie's Catholic Primary School is part of St Raphael the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• English Martyrs Catholic Primary School Rugby
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary Academy Rugby
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Southam Southam
• Our Lady and St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Leamington Spa
• St Francis Catholic Academy Bedworth
• St Anthony's Catholic Primary Academy Leamington Spa
• St Peter's Catholic Primary Academy Leamington Spa
• St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Leamington Spa
• Trinity Catholic School Leamington Spa
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary Academy Leamington Spa

What is St Marie's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Marie's Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

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

St Marie's Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

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

St Marie's Catholic Primary School has 396 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Marie's Catholic Primary School?

St Marie's Catholic Primary School is at Merttens Drive, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 7AF.