St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor at a glance

Located in Stanley, County Durham, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor is a primary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. The school educates roughly 82 pupils aged 4 to 11. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. 22% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, well below the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 25.0 percentage points compared with the previous year, though small year groups can make these figures swing sharply from year to 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 99 in reading and 96 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 6% 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary School, South Moor their first choice was offered one of its 15 Reception places. Overall pupil absence was 5.7%. There are about 13.6 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 44% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. 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.