St Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary Academy

About St Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary Academy

St Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary Academy is a primary school in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 115 pupils aged 3 to 11 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. 60% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, broadly in line with the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 2.0 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 105 in reading and 106 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 7% 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 Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary Academy their first choice was offered one of its 11 Reception places. There are about 16.8 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 11% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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.