Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 2 to 11 in Birkenhead. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in November 2022. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 11th-highest of the 12 schools in Birkenhead with published results, and 13,336th of 14,452 across England. It was 91% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2022)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Wirral (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School in detail
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is one of the parish schools of Our Lady's, St Paul's and Holy Cross Parish and is situated next to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Birkenhead."
The school runs after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 53% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 73% and 69% in Wirral and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (62% in reading, 50% in maths).
Getting a place at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 37 families put Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School as their first choice and 62 named it as one of their preferences, for 41 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 Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School are Co-op Academy Portland (0.4 miles, Requires improvement, 55% reading, 60% maths); The Priory Parish CofE Primary School (0.5 miles, Requires improvement, 82% reading, 64% maths); Cathcart Street Primary School (0.7 miles, Requires improvement, 55% reading, 32% maths); and Bidston Avenue Primary School (0.8 miles).
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.
Co-op Academy PortlandThe Priory Parish CofE Primary SchoolCathcart Street Primary SchoolBidston Avenue Primary School
Who goes there
39.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 12.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (79%) and Black (6%).
In 2026, 95 pupils (21.8%) received SEN support and 15 (3.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Birkenhead Park Rail Station, about 390 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cavendish Street (adjacent), 220 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 383 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Wirral (155), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School issued 8 suspensions, 1.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School are Birkenhead Park School (0.6 miles), St Anselm's College (0.7 miles), Birkenhead High School Academy (0.9 miles) and Weatherhead High School (1.2 miles).
Birkenhead Park SchoolSt Anselm's CollegeBirkenhead High School AcademyWeatherhead High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; 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 · 4 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's November 2022 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Your child will arrive at a welcoming school with happy pupils and positive staff relationships. The school has made excellent improvements to how it teaches, with a strong focus on reading that helps children become confident readers. Teachers design lessons so pupils build knowledge steadily, and the school gives excellent support to children with additional needs.
Key Strengths
- Strong focus on reading - children learn phonics consistently well from early years, and older pupils read with confidence and enthusiasm
- Ambitious, well-ordered curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge over time, with good support for pupils with SEND
- Positive relationships between staff and pupils, with a welcoming, happy atmosphere
- Comprehensive personal development curriculum covering health, different faiths and cultures, and modern Britain
- Effective safeguarding arrangements with staff well-trained to spot and report concerns
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers need better strategies to check whether pupils are remembering and retaining what they learn over time - some key knowledge is being forgotten
- Some staff do not consistently apply the behaviour policy, which occasionally disrupts learning for other pupils
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is effective - staff receive up-to-date training, know families well, report concerns quickly, and work well with other agencies to ensure pupils receive timely support.
Extracurricular Activities
yoga, chess, drama clubs, community service projects
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is a good Catholic primary school where pupils arrive happy and eager to learn. Leaders have made considerable improvements to the curriculum, resulting in rising pupil achievement.
At a Glance
39.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 61% (2024 to 2025). Maths has remained stable at around 53% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 66% to 49% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
25.1
Avg class size
25.7
Infant (KS1)
26.6
KS2
16
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
Year 4 Residential October 2026
9 Jul 2026
Cat Rescue!
8 Jul 2026
Y3VMG Attendance Celebrations
12 Nov 2025
Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 - Mrs Casey
26 Mar 2025
F1 Shrove Tuesday
5 Mar 2025
Congratulations to Mr Randall!!
2 Mar 2025
From Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School.
- O.P.A.L CENTRE890m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Wirral's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is in Wirral; for families living there:
Apply to Wirral for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 33
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 33 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 28 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 3 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
10 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 Wirral is 15 (the median across 136 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 Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
Will you get a place at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Wirral, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Wirral 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
91%
Near capacity
383 pupils
420 places
37 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Birkenhead
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Birkenhead
Across Wirral council
Places available
3,820
Applications
3,017
Got 1st preference
95.3%
Got preferred school
98.9%
All primary applications across Wirral council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(4)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
95
SEN Support
15
EHC Plans
25.2%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
436
Total Pupils
201
Boys
235
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
22
Teachers
19.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£47,567
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,935
Per pupil
£2616k
Total funding
£238k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.0%
Overall absence
23.1%
Persistent absence
346
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
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
Questions parents ask about Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School
What are SATs results like at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Of the pupils at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 61% reached the expected standard in reading and 53% did so in maths.
What is Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2022. At its previous graded inspection in 2010 it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is oversubscribed, Wirral allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 91% of its 420 places.
How big are the classes at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Classes at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School average 25.1 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School has around 436 pupils on roll. 40% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
7% of sessions were missed at Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School in 2024/25. 23.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Apply through Wirral's coordinated admissions process, naming Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic 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 Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School: O.P.A.L CENTRE (890m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 33 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 28 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 3 on a bicycle and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 10 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 Wirral is 15 (the median across 136 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School?
Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School is at Price Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 8DU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)