Cathedral Primary School, Bristol
Cathedral Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Bristol, part of Amplify Education. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 104th-highest of the 198 schools in Bristol with published results, and 8,234th of 14,452 across England. It was full in 2025, at 101% of capacity.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Bristol, City of (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Cathedral Primary School in detail
Cathedral Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Cathedral Primary School is a located within the heart of Bristol surrounded by cultural and historical attractions. Cathedral Primary School opened in September 2013 and now acts as a feeder school to Bristol Cathedral Choir School on the adjacent site. Our main school building is located on College Square, in the lower levels of the historic Bristol Central Library."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include choir and forest school.
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care, from £4.00 per day.
Vision and values (school website)Clubs (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils at Cathedral Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 70% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 72% in Bristol, City of; and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 90% in reading and 82% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Cathedral Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 51 families put Cathedral Primary School as their first choice and 148 named it as one of their preferences, for 54 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Cathedral Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Cathedral Primary School are Willow Park CofE Primary School (0.4 miles, Inadequate, 75% reading, 75% maths); Willow Park CofE Primary School (0.4 miles); Holy Cross RC Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 77% reading, 73% maths); and Southville Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 87% reading, 90% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Cathedral Primary School.
Willow Park CofE Primary SchoolWillow Park CofE Primary SchoolHoly Cross RC Primary SchoolSouthville Primary School
The trust
Cathedral Primary School is one of 21 schools run by Amplify Education, an academy trust.
What parents say
127 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Cathedral Primary School (as of September 2025): 98% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 77% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (98%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (77%).
Staffing
Cathedral Primary School had 27 teachers in 2026, one for every 16 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Bedminster Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Anchor Road (a2), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 1754 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Bristol, City of (417), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Cathedral Primary School issued 8 suspensions, 1.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Cathedral Primary School are Bristol Cathedral Choir School (under 0.1 miles), St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School (0.6 miles), Oasis Academy Temple Quarter (0.8 miles) and Cotham School (0.9 miles).
Bristol Cathedral Choir SchoolSt Mary Redcliffe and Temple SchoolOasis Academy Temple QuarterCotham School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from April 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
The school's vision 'many voices, one harmony' is a golden thread that runs throughout the school. The school expects all pupils to achieve highly. Pupils rise to this and learn well across the curriculum. Respectful and warm relationships with staff enable pupils to flourish. Pastoral staff check in with pupils to ensure they get off to a good start. Parents unanimously appreciate the support adults provide. As a result, pupils are happy and feel safe.
The school's wider offer for pupils is exceptional. From Reception, pupil passports outline the broad and rich experiences the school provides. These include performing in a cathedral and learning British Sign Language. The school teaches pupils to 'use their voice' to make a difference in the world. For example, inspired by the work of the school's 'green team,' pupils held a peaceful protest to raise awareness of climate change.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has designed an ambitious curriculum for all pupils. It has set out the knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. The training teachers receive from the trust and school supports them to be confident and accurate in the subject content they teach. Teachers skilfully support pupils to build their knowledge well and retain this in their long-term memory. For example, pupils talk confidently about major and minor notes and how dynamics change in different pieces of music. In most lessons, teachers check on how well pupils are learning. They adapt the curriculum so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn as well as their peers. However, in a few curriculum subjects, teachers' checks on how well pupils learn the curriculum are not always effective. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge in those subjects.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2015 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
22.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
127 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 90% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 82% to 70% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 73% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
30.1
Avg class size
30.0
Infant (KS1)
30.3
KS2
14
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Cathedral Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Cathedral Primary School.
- Shine @ Cathedral PrimaryAt the school · Not yet graded
- Minor To Major @ Bristol Grammar School820m away · Not yet graded
- Shine @ Southville Infants960m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Cathedral Primary School is a free school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bristol, City of's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Ferry Terminals
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Cathedral Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Cathedral Primary School is in Bristol, City of; for families living there:
- Bristol, City of's school travel policy: Home to school travel policy
- How to apply: Apply online for home school travel support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 144
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 42
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 144 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 42 serious and 102 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bristol, City of is 27 (the median across 175 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Cathedral Primary School
Will you get a place at Cathedral Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Cathedral Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Cathedral Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Cathedral Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Bristol, City of, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Cathedral Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bristol, City of got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
101%
Over capacity
421 pupils
420 places
1 pupil over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bristol
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bristol
Across Bristol, City of council
Places available
5,210
Applications
4,287
Got 1st preference
92.0%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All primary applications across Bristol, City of council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
52
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
15.6%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
422
Total Pupils
207
Boys
215
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
27
Teachers
15.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,253
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,031
Per pupil
£2352k
Total funding
£122k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.9%
Overall absence
12.2%
Persistent absence
370
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Questions parents ask about Cathedral Primary School
What are SATs results like at Cathedral Primary School?
Of the pupils at Cathedral Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 80% reached the expected standard in reading and 70% did so in maths.
What is Cathedral Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Cathedral Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Cathedral Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Cathedral Primary School is oversubscribed, Bristol, City of allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Cathedral Primary School?
Cathedral Primary School was full in 2025, at 100% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Cathedral Primary School?
Classes at Cathedral Primary School average 30.1 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Cathedral Primary School?
Cathedral Primary School has around 422 pupils on roll. 22% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Cathedral Primary School?
4.9% of sessions were missed at Cathedral Primary School in 2024/25. 12.2% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Cathedral Primary School?
Apply through Bristol, City of's coordinated admissions process, naming Cathedral Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Cathedral Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Shine @ Cathedral Primary (registered, not yet graded). There are 2 more within a kilometre. The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Cathedral Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 144 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 42 serious and 102 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bristol, City of is 27 (the median across 175 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cathedral Primary School?
Cathedral Primary School is at College Square, Bristol, Bristol, BS1 5TS.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)