St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Primary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Lancashire
Tong Lane, Bacup, OL13 9LJ
37
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Inadequate
Graded 16/04/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.1%
25.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
94
Capacity used
Has space45%
210 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
9 of 9 families who put it first got an offer
9
Places offered
20
Total applications
2.2
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 9 | 9 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 4 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 3rd preference | 7 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 20 | 9 | 45% |
1st preference success by year
Lancashire lets families list 3 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Kelly Watson
- Address
- Tong Lane, Bacup, OL13 9LJ
- Phone
- 01706873123
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward / constituency
- Britannia & Lee Mill · Rossendale and Darwen
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147592
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 76% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 8% | — | — |
| SEN support | 19% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
94 pupils · 210 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
14 April 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Needs attention Achievement Needs attention Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Attendance and behaviour Needs attention Leadership and governance Needs attention Early years Expected standard Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 24
16 April 2024
Full graded inspection
Inadequate overall effectivenessEarly years Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective No Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 122 pupils
Attendance
92.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
7.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
25.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
0.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.6%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 37% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 0% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 15% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 0% | 8% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Lancashire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.