St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

Exeter · EX1 3EG

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 269 pupils, 21.6% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 22.7% on SEN support Behaviour 5.2% absence rate Staff 14.7% turnover Financials £6,173 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Nicholas Catholic Primary School

General Information

Address: Ringswell Avenue, Exeter, EX1 3EG – View on map
Phone: 01392445403
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Damian Railston
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 19 families put it first for 31 places – 6 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 8 · 2024 7 · 2025 7 · 2026 6
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

269 pupils out of 327 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 58
% eligible for free school meals: 21.6%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Exeter average)
English as an additional language: 23% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14.7% a year (Exeter 19.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 53% moved to another school, 47% 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.

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 Devon: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 6 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 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 Devon (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: 5.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 12.3%
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: 22.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 30 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 6 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 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

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 32% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 27 percentage points below the Exeter average (59%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 45% against an expected 64%)
3-year average (expected standard): 45%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 66% · Writing 45% · Maths 64% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 101
Based on: 47 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 schoolExeter averageEngland↘ Falling Down 26 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 27 percentage points below the Exeter average (59%).

Year 6 SATs: 21st of 23 junior and primary schools in the area

#19Willowbrook School44%
#20St Thomas Primary School43%
#21St Nicholas Catholic Primary School32%
#22Countess Wear Primary School31%
#23Pinhoe Church of England Primary School & Nursery22%

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

#1Newtown Primary School81%
#2St Sidwell's Church of England Primary School & Nursery79%
=3St Gabriel's CofE Primary School75%
=3Trinity CofE Primary and Nursery School75%
#5Whipton Barton Junior School73%
#6St Leonard's (CofE) Primary School71%
#7Stoke Hill Junior School69%
#8St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy67%
=9Alphington Primary School66%
=9Exwick Heights Primary School66%
#11Woodwater Academy65%
#12Thomas Hall School64%
#13St David's CofE Primary School60%
#14Wynstream Primary School Academy57%
=15Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School56%
=15Montgomery Primary School56%
#17Bowhill Primary School55%
#18The Topsham School52%
#19Willowbrook School44%
#20St Thomas Primary School43%
#21St Nicholas Catholic Primary School32%
#22Countess Wear Primary School31%
#23Pinhoe Church of England Primary School & Nursery22%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,173 (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.

9th of 21 primary schools in Exeter for spending per pupil

#7St Thomas Primary School£6,425
#8Newtown Primary School£6,211
#9St Nicholas Catholic Primary School£6,173
#10Montgomery Primary School£6,089
#11Pinhoe Church of England Primary School & Nursery£5,974

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 David's CofE Primary School£8,260
#2Willowbrook School£7,066
#3Woodwater Academy£6,723
#4St Gabriel's CofE Primary School£6,605
#5The Topsham School£6,554
#6Wynstream Primary School Academy£6,495
#7St Thomas Primary School£6,425
#8Newtown Primary School£6,211
#9St Nicholas Catholic Primary School£6,173
#10Montgomery Primary School£6,089
#11Pinhoe Church of England Primary School & Nursery£5,974
#12Bowhill Primary School£5,728
#13Exwick Heights Primary School£5,555
#14Alphington Primary School£5,314
#15Trinity CofE Primary and Nursery School£5,055
#16St Sidwell's Church of England Primary School & Nursery£4,977
#17St Leonard's (CofE) Primary School£4,686
#18St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy£4,248
#19Monkerton Community Primary School£72
#20Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School£65
#21Countess Wear Primary School£63

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

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