Sacred Heart Catholic School, Paignton
Sacred Heart Catholic School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Paignton, part of Plymouth Cast. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in December 2012. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 7th-highest of the 9 schools in Paignton with published results, and 8,749th of 14,452 across England. It was 94% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2012)
- 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 Torbay (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Sacred Heart Catholic School in detail
Sacred Heart Catholic School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, gymnastics, basketball, dance and choir.
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic School reached the expected standard in reading and 71% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 74% in Torbay and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 94% in reading and 77% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Sacred Heart Catholic School
For September 2026 entry, 19 families put Sacred Heart Catholic School as their first choice and 34 named it as one of their preferences, for 22 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 Sacred Heart Catholic School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Sacred Heart Catholic School are Oldway Primary School (under 0.1 miles, Good, 73% reading, 77% maths); Curledge Street Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 82% reading, 87% maths); St Michael's Church of England Academy (0.6 miles, Good); and Hayes School (0.8 miles, Good, 81% reading, 83% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Sacred Heart Catholic School.
Oldway Primary SchoolCurledge Street AcademySt Michael's Church of England AcademyHayes School
The trust
Sacred Heart Catholic School is one of 34 schools run by Plymouth Cast, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Paignton (Paignton and Dartmouth Railway), about 630 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).
16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cecil Road (outside), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Sacred Heart Catholic School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Sacred Heart Catholic School issued 5 suspensions, 2.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; 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 · 3 years agoThis judgement is from December 2012, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its December 2012 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
23.6%
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 declined from 94% to 77% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 77% to 71% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 81% to 65% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.3
Avg class size
26.0
Infant (KS1)
28.3
KS2
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Sacred Heart Catholic School
26.6.2026
26 Jun 2026
12.6.2026
12 Jun 2026
15.05.2026
15 May 2026
1.5.26 FF
1 May 2026
27.2.26
27 Feb 2026
6.2.26
6 Feb 2026
From Sacred Heart Catholic School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Sacred Heart Catholic School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Sacred Heart Catholic School.
- Kinetic Sports Group - OldwayAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Sacred Heart Catholic School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Sacred Heart Catholic School is in Torbay; for families living there:
Apply to Torbay for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 37
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 8
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 37 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 29 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
11 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 Torbay is 18 (the median across 47 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 Sacred Heart Catholic School
Will you get a place at Sacred Heart Catholic School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Sacred Heart Catholic School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Sacred Heart Catholic School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Sacred Heart Catholic School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Torbay, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Sacred Heart Catholic School for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Torbay 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
94%
Near capacity
197 pupils
210 places
13 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Paignton
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Paignton
Across Torbay council
Places available
1,357
Applications
1,000
Got 1st preference
94.2%
Got preferred school
98.9%
All primary applications across Torbay council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
42
SEN Support
8
EHC Plans
24.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
208
Total Pupils
104
Boys
104
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
17.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,680
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,829
Per pupil
£1251k
Total funding
£65k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.3%
Overall absence
6.4%
Persistent absence
173
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
Sacred Heart Catholic School
Questions parents ask about Sacred Heart Catholic School
What are SATs results like at Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Of the pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 77% reached the expected standard in reading and 71% did so in maths.
What is Sacred Heart Catholic School's Ofsted rating?
Sacred Heart Catholic School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in December 2012, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Sacred Heart Catholic School?
No fixed boundary. When Sacred Heart Catholic School is oversubscribed, Torbay allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Sacred Heart Catholic School was not full in 2025: it ran at 94% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Classes at Sacred Heart Catholic School average 27.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Sacred Heart Catholic School has around 208 pupils on roll. 24% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Sacred Heart Catholic School?
4.3% of sessions were missed at Sacred Heart Catholic School in 2024/25. 6.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Apply through Torbay's coordinated admissions process, naming Sacred Heart Catholic 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 Sacred Heart Catholic School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Kinetic Sports Group - Oldway (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 Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 37 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 29 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 11 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 Torbay is 18 (the median across 47 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Sacred Heart Catholic School?
Sacred Heart Catholic School is at Cecil Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2SH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)