Secondary applications close 31 October – compare your shortlist now

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Primary Ages 4-11 197 pupils Burnley
Ofsted: Requires Improvement
All schools in Burnley

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is an academy converter in Burnley for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 197 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2021 of its predecessor, St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Burnley. In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Suspensions are common here, with 7.1 in every 100 pupils suspended at least once in 2024/25 (nationally, 1.1). It has fewer teachers for its size than most primary schools: 30.8 pupils for each teacher in 2025/26, against 20.7 nationally.

Ofsted inspection: December 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 4-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Holcombe Drive
Burnley
Lancashire
BB10 4BH
Phone 01282427546
Reference Number 150081

General Makeup

Number of pupils 197
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 55.84%
Girls: 44.16%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 46.7%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 21.8%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 28.1
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 26
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.8

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 15 13 28
2 17 12 29
3 11 18 29
4 18 10 28
5 17 13 30
6 16 16 32

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 63.5%
White, Other 12.7%
African 7.6%
White & Asian 4.1%
Pakistani 2%
Asian, Other 2%
Mixed, Other 1.5%
Indian 1%
White & Black (African) 1%
Irish 1%
Chinese 0.5%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Burnley, inspected in May 2021.

Overall Ofsted Rating Requires Improvement
Last Report Date This school has not had an inspection yet.
Date Report
06 Dec 2023 Academy conversion letter

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 43%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 102
Maths 100
Unlock Premium

See how St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy ranks locally and nationally. Percentile rankings against every other school, historic result charts, admissions data and post-GCSE destinations are all included.

£9.99 one-off payment. Lifetime access, no subscription.

Unlock for £9.99

Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 23 0
Third Preference 28 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

Sample

Unlock

Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy had 210 pupils for 210 places. Every place was filled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Burnley/South Burnley Primary” planning area

Lancashire counted 335 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 305 in 2029–30, down 9%.

20242025
Places 210210
Pupils 209210
Unfilled 0.5%0.0%

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 Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20242025
Authorised absence 5.8%5.5%
Unauthorised absence 1.3%1.4%
Severely absent pupils 1.1%1.6%

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, 7.1% of pupils at St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.023.8
Permanent exclusions 00

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 Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy had 30.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 42.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20252026
Pupils per adult 9.79.5
Teachers who left state teaching 28.6%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 50.0%–
Sick days per teacher 2.0–

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 Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 16 4
Social, emotional and mental health 10 0
Moderate learning difficulty 4 2
Physical disability 4 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 3
Hearing impairment 1 0
Multi-sensory impairment 1 0
Other difficulty or disability 1 0
Severe learning difficulty 0 1

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 Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy received £6,421 and spent £6,823 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £266,000 (£1,265 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Romero Catholic Academy Trust, income was £8,388 and spending £8,280 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2025
Revenue reserve £266,000
per pupil £1,265
In-year balance -£85,000
per pupil -£403

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.

Name Distance
Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary School
Church Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 2DL
0.37 miles
Burnley Springfield Community Primary School
Oxford Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3HP
0.57 miles
Burnley Brunshaw Primary School
Morse Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 4PB
0.64 miles
Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Woodgrove Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3EJ
0.67 miles
Heasandford Primary School
Williams Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3DA
0.67 miles
Basnett Street Nursery School
Basnett Street, Burnley, BB10 3ES
0.72 miles
Rawdhatul Uloom
Jamia Masjid-E-Farooq-Azam, North Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1LU
0.74 miles
Rockwood Nursery School
Kingsland Road, Burnley, BB11 3PU
0.86 miles
Stoneyholme Nursery School
March Street, BURNLEY, BB12 0BU
0.88 miles
Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School
Oswald Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0BN
0.92 miles
Barden Primary School
Burnley Campus, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1JD
1.08 miles
Reedley Hallows Nursery School
Burnley Campus, Burnley, BB10 1JD
1.08 miles
Holly Grove School
Burnley Campus, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1JD
1.08 miles
Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School
Raglan Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 4LB
1.11 miles
Rosewood Primary School
Rosewood Avenue, Rosewood Primary School, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 2PH
1.23 miles
St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School
Briercliffe Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2NH
1.37 miles
Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Calderbrook Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 4RB
1.38 miles
Taywood Nursery School
Accrington Road, Burnley, BB11 5AE
1.4 miles
St John the Baptist RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Thames Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2PZ
1.42 miles
Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School
Wellfield Drive, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0JD
1.44 miles
Name Distance
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy
Ormerod Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3AA
0.17 miles
Olive High
Shorey Bank, Burnley, BB11 2RY
0.38 miles
Olive High Boys
Ormerod Road (Entrance Via Shorey Bank), Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 2RU
0.41 miles
Unity College
Townley Holmes, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3DF
0.69 miles
Burnley College
Princess Way, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0AN
0.83 miles
Lincoln House School
25-27 Clifton Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0QZ
0.9 miles
Ridgewood Community High School
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
0.92 miles
Sir John Thursby Community College
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
0.97 miles
Compass Community School Lancashire
Bend Hill Farm, Granville Street, Briercliffe, Burnley, BB10 2RA
1.53 miles
The Rose School
Greenock Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 4DT
1.53 miles
Silver Birch School
Briercliffe Road, Harle Syke, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2HA
1.63 miles
Broadfield Specialist School
Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 5BT
1.72 miles
Holdsworth School
Park Hill, Padiham Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 6TG
2.31 miles
Marsden Heights Community College
Edge End Lane, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PR
2.48 miles
Burnley High School
Byron Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 6NX
2.6 miles
Shuttleworth College
Burnley Road, Padiham, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 8ST
2.87 miles
Edenfield Girls' High School
Brunswick Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PQ
3.04 miles
Rosa House School
Bronte Farm, Halifax Road, Briercliffe, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3RB
3.33 miles
Moorlands View School
Manchester Road, Dunnockshaw, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 5PQ
3.53 miles
East Lancashire Learning Group
Scotland Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7YT
3.66 miles

All schools in Burnley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2021 of its predecessor, St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Burnley.

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

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have?

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy has 197 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy cover?

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?

St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is at Holcombe Drive, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 4BH.

Filters

Basics

Age Range

Special Schools

Independent Schools

Faith Schools

Key Stage 2 Attainment

Students Meeting expected standard

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

Students Meeting higher standard

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

GCSE Attainment

Attainment 8 score percentile

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99

Students getting 5 or more GCSE's at grade 9-4 (A-C)

Unlock Premium to filter by results - £9.99 one-off, lifetime access.

Unlock for £9.99