St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley

Chorley · PR7 2RJ

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 206 pupils, 6.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 9.2% on SEN support Behaviour 2.5% absence rate Staff 13.3% turnover Financials £6,980 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley

General Information

Address: Hornchurch Drive, Chorley, PR7 2RJ – View on map
Phone: 01257262811
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Patrick Smyth
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 19 families put it first for 19 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

206 pupils out of 210 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 14
% eligible for free school meals: 6.8%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Chorley average)
English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.3% a year (Chorley 12.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 47% moved to another school, 53% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 2.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 1.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 9.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card January 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 59% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 6% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 6 percentage points below the Chorley average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 66% against an expected 69%)
3-year average (expected standard): 66%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 75% · Writing 84% · Maths 72% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 104
Based on: 32 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolChorley averageEngland↘ Falling Down 8 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 6 percentage points below the Chorley average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: 35th of 49 junior and primary schools in the area

=32St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley62%
#34Eccleston St Mary's Church of England Primary School60%
#35St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley59%
=36Anderton Primary School58%
=36Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School58%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School100%
#2Eccleston Primary School88%
#3St George's Church of England Primary School, Chorley87%
#4St. Mary's Catholic Primary School Euxton83%
#5Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School81%
=6Abbey Village Primary School80%
=6St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Brindle80%
#8Rivington Foundation Primary School79%
#9Trinity and St Michael's VA CofE/Methodist Primary School78%
#10Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School77%
#11Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School75%
#12St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley74%
#13Coppull Parish Church of England Primary School73%
#14Euxton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School72%
=15Adlington Primary School71%
=15Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School71%
=15St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell71%
=18Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School70%
=18Euxton Primrose Hill Primary School70%
#20Heskin Pemberton's Church of England VA Primary School69%
=21Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School68%
=21Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School68%
=23Lancaster Lane Primary and Pre-School67%
=23Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley67%
#25Gillibrand Primary School66%
=26St Bede's Catholic Primary School65%
=26St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Anderton65%
=28Clayton-le-Woods Manor Road Primary School64%
=28Highfield Community Primary School64%
=28Trinity Church of England/Methodist Primary School, Buckshaw Village64%
#31Coppull Primary School and Nursery63%
=32St Chad's Catholic Primary School62%
=32St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley62%
#34Eccleston St Mary's Church of England Primary School60%
#35St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley59%
=36Anderton Primary School58%
=36Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School58%
=38Balshaw Lane Community Primary School57%
=38St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Coppull57%
#40Coppull St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School53%
#41Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit48%
#42St Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, Mawdesley45%
#43Westwood Primary School44%
#44Buckshaw Primary School43%
=45Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School42%
=45Withnell Fold Primary School42%
=47Duke Street Primary School38%
=47St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Chorley38%
#49Clayton Brook Primary School32%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,980 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

25th of 50 primary schools in Chorley for spending per pupil

#23Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,196
#24Gillibrand Primary School£6,995
#25St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley£6,980
#26St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley£6,960
#27Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School£6,913

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1St Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, Mawdesley£11,236
#2Abbey Village Primary School£9,828
#3Clayton Brook Primary School£9,544
#4Mawdesley St Peter's Church of England Primary School£9,061
#5Highfield Community Primary School£9,042
#6Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,852
#7Coppull St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,553
#8St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, Coppull£8,311
#9Chorley All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Unit£8,235
#10Heskin Pemberton's Church of England VA Primary School£7,962
#11Eccleston St Mary's Church of England Primary School£7,807
#12Withnell Fold Primary School£7,793
#13Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Chorley£7,668
#14Buckshaw Primary School£7,539
#15Coppull Primary School and Nursery£7,534
#16Lancaster Lane Primary and Pre-School£7,533
#17St Chad's Catholic Primary School£7,383
#18Westwood Primary School£7,376
#19Duke Street Primary School£7,350
#20St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell£7,228
#21Adlington Primary School£7,225
#22Rivington Foundation Primary School£7,202
#23Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,196
#24Gillibrand Primary School£6,995
#25St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Chorley£6,980
#26St Peter's CofE Primary School Chorley£6,960
#27Chorley St James' Church of England Primary School£6,913
#28St Bede's Catholic Primary School£6,863
#29Chorley, the Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School£6,849
#30Clayton-le-Woods Church of England Primary School£6,792
#31Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School£6,774
#32Clayton-le-Woods Manor Road Primary School£6,732
#33Eccleston Primary School£6,717
#34St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Brindle£6,716
#35Coppull Parish Church of England Primary School£6,697
#36Anderton Primary School£6,696
#37Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School£6,685
#38St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Chorley£6,684
#39St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chorley£6,684
#40St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Anderton£6,680
#41Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School£6,610
#42St George's Church of England Primary School, Chorley£6,457
#43Trinity and St Michael's VA CofE/Methodist Primary School£6,418
#44Euxton Primrose Hill Primary School£6,345
#45Euxton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,305
#46Trinity Church of England/Methodist Primary School, Buckshaw Village£6,152
#47St. Mary's Catholic Primary School Euxton£6,095
#48Christ Church Charnock Richard CofE Primary School£6,082
#49Balshaw Lane Community Primary School£5,361
#50Brindle Gregson Lane Primary School£4,941

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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