St Catherine's RC Primary School, Edinburgh
St Catherine's RC Primary School is a primary school for pupils in Edinburgh. It has a Roman Catholic religious character.
- Attendance
- 93%
Data last updated 25 Oct 2026
St Catherine's RC Primary School in detail
School in Scotland
St Catherine's RC Primary School is a local authority school in Scotland. Scottish schools are inspected by Education Scotland rather than Ofsted, and Scotland does not publish school-by-school exam league tables.
St Catherine's RC Primary School has a pre-school (nursery) class.
In the 2025 pupil census it had 211 pupils, an average class size of 30.1 and 17.9 pupils per teacher.
32% of P6-P7 pupils are registered for free school meals, 61% of pupils have an additional support need recorded and 35% speak English as an additional language.
48% of its pupils live in Scotland's most deprived fifth of areas and 4% in the least deprived fifth (SIMD).
Attendance was 93% in 2024/25, and 23.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
The 2026 school estate survey rated its buildings' condition as poor (C) and their suitability for teaching as satisfactory (B); the school was 101% full.
St Catherine's RC Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "St. Catherine’s R.C. Primary School is a Denominational Primary School built in 1966. We serve the South East of Edinburgh area. The school catchment area comprises the areas of Gracemount and Burdiehouse. The current school roll is approximately 216. There are seven classes in our school, P1 - P7. The current Nursery roll is approximately 40."
From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a small, single stream, inclusive denominational Primary School located in the Gracemount Area to the South of Edinburgh."
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Catherine's RC Primary School are Gracemount Primary School (0.2 miles), Frogston Primary School (0.4 miles), Gilmerton Primary School (0.8 miles) and St John Vianney RC Primary School (1 mile).
Gracemount Primary SchoolFrogston Primary SchoolGilmerton Primary SchoolSt John Vianney RC Primary School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Shawfair Rail Station, about 2.8 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gracemount Drive (before), 200 metres away.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Catherine's RC Primary School are Gracemount High School (0.2 miles) and Liberton High School (0.7 miles).
Sources: Scottish Government school statistics: pupil census, attendance and absence, school estate, leaver destinations (OGL); NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
Scottish GovernmentInspection
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of St Catherine's RC Primary School in September 2026.
- 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessmentgood
- 3.2 Raising attainment and achievementgood
HMIE grades on a six-point scale: unsatisfactory, weak, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent.
Source: HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland), Open Government Licence.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Special Measures
Keep up with St Catherine's RC Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 6
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 2 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot.
1 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 Edinburgh City is 12 (the median across 140 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
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Catherine's RC Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Catherine's RC Primary School
When was St Catherine's RC Primary School last inspected?
HM Inspectorate of Education (Education Scotland) last published an inspection of St Catherine's RC Primary School in September 2026. Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and assessment as good and raising attainment and achievement as good, on a six-point scale from unsatisfactory to excellent.
What is the catchment area for St Catherine's RC Primary School?
Scottish schools have catchment (zoned) areas, and St Catherine's RC Primary School is no exception: children living in its zone are normally given a place there automatically. Families who want a different school make a placing request to Edinburgh City. Edinburgh City publishes the zone boundary.
How do I apply to St Catherine's RC Primary School?
If you live in St Catherine's RC Primary School's catchment zone your child is normally allocated a place automatically, and Edinburgh City will write to you. To ask for a place here from outside the zone, make a placing request to Edinburgh City - requests usually open in November and close in mid-March for the following August.
How many road collisions happen near St Catherine's RC Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 6 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 2 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot. 1 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 Edinburgh City is 12 (the median across 140 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Catherine's RC Primary School?
St Catherine's RC Primary School is at 30 Gracemount Drive, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 6RN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)