St Luke's Catholic Academy

Academy sponsor led·Primary school Harlow, Essex·CM19 4LU
Composite score
38.0
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#11,560
National rank
#1249
In East of England
#319
In Essex
Top 78%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
53%
% achieving higher RWM
3%
Reading average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
103.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
93%
29 first choices, 30 places
First choices per place
0.97
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
57
any preference, for 30 places
Last place offered lived
0.38 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 604 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.03
00.511.5
1 per place
0.7520220.9720231.0020241.0020250.972026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
239
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
15.6%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
55.6%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
18.0%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
1.7%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
4.5%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
8.0%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
24.2
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£5,523
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

About St Luke's Catholic Academy

St Luke's Catholic Academy is a primary school in Harlow, Essex, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 239 pupils aged 3 to 11 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. 53% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, below the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has risen by 5.0 percentage points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 3% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). 93% of the families who made St Luke's Catholic Academy their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 0.38 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. Overall pupil absence was 4.5%. There are about 24.2 pupils per teacher. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. 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.

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