St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale

About St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale

St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale is a primary school in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 235 pupils aged 2 to 11 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. In the most recent Key Stage 2 SATs, 78% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — well above the national average of 61%. That marks an improvement of 4.0 percentage points in the proportion reaching the expected standard on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 24% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 105 in reading and 106 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 9% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Competition for places is real here - 76% of first-choice applicants were offered a Reception place for September 2026 (38 first choices for 29 places). Overall pupil absence was 6.1%. There are about 22.9 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.