SCHOOL PROFILE

St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 139394
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 327 Published school capacity
Capacity used 82.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

24 September 2024
Latest published outcome Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education Requires improvement
Behaviour & attitudes Requires improvement
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Requires improvement
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Devon
Trust PLYMOUTH CAST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 269 269 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 116 43.1% of pupils
Male pupils 153 56.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

21.6%
3.2 pts below England
School 21.6%
Exeter 21.6%
South West 20.1%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

22.7%
2.4 pts above England
School 22.7%
Exeter 14.1%
South West 10.7%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.4%
0.6 pts below England
School 0.4%
Exeter 1.1%
South West 1.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
61.0%
164
Any other White background
14.5%
39
African
6.3%
17
Indian
6.3%
17
Any other ethnic group
3.0%
8
Chinese
3.0%
8
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 27.1% 73 of 269 pupils
6.3 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 27.1%
Exeter 23.5%
South West 21.7%
England 20.8%
SEN support 22.7% 61 pupils
England 14.8% 7.9 pts above
EHC plans 4.5% 12 pupils
England 6.0% 1.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 37
Social, emotional & mental health 10
Moderate learning difficulty 8
Autistic spectrum disorder 6
Multi-sensory impairment 6
Hearing impairment 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

32.0% 28.4 pts below England
School 32.0%
Exeter 54.4%
South West 58.4%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

66.0%

7.8 pts below England

School 66.0%
Exeter 71.2%
South West 73.1%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

45.0%

25.3 pts below England

School 45.0%
Exeter 65.6%
South West 69.4%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

64.0%

8.0 pts below England

School 64.0%
Exeter 66.5%
South West 70.5%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.17%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.05 pts lower than England
School 5.17%
Exeter 6.42%
South West 6.20%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

12.31%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.50 pts lower than England
School 12.31%
Exeter 16.25%
South West 15.08%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.12%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.68 pts lower than England
School 1.12%
Exeter 2.38%
South West 1.90%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

82.3% 5.9 pts below England
St Nicholas Catholic Primary School
82.3%
Exeter
82.7%
South West
84.2%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information