Sacred Heart Catholic School

Academy converter·Primary school Paignton, Torbay·TQ3 2SH
Composite score
50.9
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#6,949
National rank
#666
In South West
#13
In Torbay
Top 47%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
55%
% achieving higher RWM
13%
Reading average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
104.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
19 first choices, 22 places
First choices per place
0.86
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
34
any preference, for 22 places
Applications from another council area
3%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.05
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9420220.9420231.0020240.9120250.862026

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

Every child who put Sacred Heart Catholic School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

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

School profile

Age range
3–11
Pupils on roll
209
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
25.5%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
23.0%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
15.8%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
4.3%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
5.8%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
13.1%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
27.5
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,703
Typical primary: £6,960

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

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

Sacred Heart Catholic School is a primary school serving Paignton, Torbay, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 209 pupils aged 3 to 11 on roll. 55% 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 fallen by 19.0 percentage points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 104 in reading and 104 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 13% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Sacred Heart Catholic School their first choice was offered one of its 22 Reception places. Overall pupil absence was 5.8%. There are about 27.5 pupils per teacher. Sacred Heart Catholic School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. 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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