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St Columba's Catholic Primary School, Birmingham

Good
Primary
Academy sponsor led
Mixed
Roman Catholic
Ages 4–11

St Columba's Catholic Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Birmingham, part of Lumen Christi Catholic Multi Academy Company. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 51st-highest of the 275 schools in Birmingham with published results, and 3,012th of 14,452 across England. It was 91% full in 2025.

SATs results
Above England average
Ofsted
Good (2018)
Demand
Every first choice offered
Attendance
Below England average
New inspections, open days and news, by email.

Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days

Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Birmingham (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.

Data last updated 26 Oct 2026

St Columba's Catholic Primary School in detail

St Columba's Catholic Primary School in its own words

From the headteacher's welcome: "My name is Mrs Linda Southerton and I am the Principal of St Columba's. St Columba's is part of the Lumen Christi Multi Academy Company (MAC) with St Brigid's, St Joseph's, St James', St John Fisher , St Thomas Aquinas, St Thomas More St Paul's and St Peter's."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include Lego, gardening and French.

The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care, from £7.00 per session.

Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)

Source: The school's own website

Results

In 2025, 88% of Year 6 pupils at St Columba's Catholic Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 84% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 76% in Birmingham and 77% and 75% across England.

Results rose from 75% in reading and 72% in maths in 2024.

With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.

Getting a place at St Columba's Catholic Primary School

For September 2026 entry, 13 families put St Columba's Catholic Primary School as their first choice and 52 named it as one of their preferences, for 18 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 St Columba's Catholic Primary School

Compared with nearby schools

The nearest other state primary schools to St Columba's Catholic Primary School are Colmers Farm Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 77% reading, 77% maths); Rednal Hill Infant School (0.5 miles, Good); Rednal Hill Junior School (0.5 miles, Good, 67% reading, 62% maths); and The Meadows Primary School (0.7 miles).

St Columba's Catholic Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 2 of them.

Colmers Farm Primary SchoolRednal Hill Infant SchoolRednal Hill Junior SchoolThe Meadows Primary School

The trust

St Columba's Catholic Primary School is one of 9 schools run by Lumen Christi Catholic Multi Academy Company, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

All 9 schools in Lumen Christi Catholic Multi Academy Company

Who goes there

46.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 27.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (36%), Black (30%) and Mixed (19%).

In 2026, 19 pupils (10.4%) received SEN support and 2 (1.1%) 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 Longbridge Rail Station, about 680 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Longbridge Island (before), 50 metres away.

The area around the school

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Columba'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 232 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435).

Suspensions and exclusions

In 2024/25, St Columba's Catholic Primary School issued 34 suspensions, 17.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

Secondary schools nearby

The secondary schools closest to St Columba's Catholic Primary School are Colmers School and Sixth Form College (0.5 miles), Turves Green Boys' School (0.9 miles), King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls (1.1 miles) and King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy (1.3 miles).

Colmers School and Sixth Form CollegeTurves Green Boys' SchoolKing Edward VI Northfield School for GirlsKing Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy

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; 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

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Linda Southerton
Pupils:183
LA:Birmingham
Phone:01216754841
Address:Lickey Road, Rednal, Birmingham, B45 8TD
Trust:LUMEN CHRISTI CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY COMPANY (9 schools)
Status:open
Opened:1 April 2015

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 3 years ago

This judgement is from March 2018, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.

-

Overall

Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.

Inspected 15 November 2023View full report
URN:141669
UKPRN:10048241
Diocese:Archdiocese of Birmingham
Constituency:Birmingham Northfield
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

Ofsted rated this school Good at its March 2018 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.

Rated Good for

Leadership & management.

At a Glance

46.4%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2024/25

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+13ppMaths+12ppWriting+3pp

Reading has improved from 75% to 88% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 72% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 81% (2024 to 2025).

Class Sizes

26.1

Avg class size

23.3

Infant (KS1)

28.3

KS2

7

Total classes

1 class with more than 30 pupils

2025/26 academic year

How Does This School Compare?

Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools

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Term dates

St Columba's Catholic Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Birmingham's term dates for its community schools.

Getting There

Train Stations

Longbridge Rail Station
682m · 11 min walk

Bus Stops

Longbridge Island (before)
48m · 1 min walk
South and City College (Stop LB)
229m · 4 min walk
Ryde Park Road (opp)
324m · 5 min walk
Tinmeadow Crescent (adj)
409m · 7 min walk
Longbridge Technology Park (Stop LC)
417m · 7 min walk

Free school transport

Check free transport to St Columba's Catholic Primary School from your postcode →

You apply to the council where you live. St Columba's Catholic Primary School is in Birmingham; for families living there:

Safety and surroundings

Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)

Collisions
36
Fatal
0
Serious
13
Children hurt
3

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 36 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 13 serious and 23 slight.

3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.

2 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 Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 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.

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Commute and house prices

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Your chances of a place at St Columba's Catholic Primary School

Will you get a place at St Columba's Catholic Primary School? Get the admissions report

Your home postcode, set against St Columba's Catholic Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.

What the report includes for St Columba's Catholic Primary School:

  • The straight-line distance from your home to St Columba's Catholic Primary School.
  • Birmingham publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Columba's Catholic Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
  • Applications, first choices and offers at St Columba's Catholic Primary School for 2016 to 2026 entry.
  • How many families in Birmingham 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

191 pupils

210 places

19 spare places in 2025

2025, DfE school capacity data

Area Demand Pressure - Birmingham

Low pressure
New homes approved:18,575
Projected new pupils:4,644

Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Birmingham

Across Birmingham council

Low demand council-wide0.79 applications per place

Places available

15,375

Applications

12,117

Got 1st preference

92.1%

Got preferred school

99.0%

All primary applications across Birmingham council (2026/27), not just this school.

This school: Every first choice offered

Inspection History(2)

15 November 2023

Ungraded inspection: The school remains Good.

13 March 2018
Leadership & ManagementGood

SEND & SEN Provision

SEN Overview

19

SEN Support

2

EHC Plans

11.5%

of Total Pupils

2026 academic year

Provision & Specialist Facilities

No specialist provision recorded

Pupils by Need Type

Speech, Language & Communication8
Autistic Spectrum Disorder7
Other4
Moderate Learning Difficulty2
EHC Plan
SEN Support

Pupil Demographics

Ethnicity

White British
36.1%
Asian
5.4%
Black
29.5%
Mixed
19.1%
Chinese
0.5%
Other
3.3%
Unclassified
1.1%

2026 academic year

Key Indicators

Free School Meals46.4%
English as Additional Language27.3%

183

Total Pupils

98

Boys

85

Girls

2026 academic year

Workforce

10

Teachers

18.3:1

Pupil-teacher ratio

£47,607

Mean salary

2026 data

School Funding

£6,276

Per pupil

£1459k

Total funding

£168k

Pupil premium

Deprivation£240,950
EAL funding£16,027
Lump sum£141,970

2025-26 financial year allocations

Pupil Absence
2024/25

7.2%

Overall absence

21.4%

Persistent absence

182

Enrolments

Authorised4.1%
Unauthorised3.1%
Persistent (10%+)21.4%
Severe (50%+)1.1%

Absence trend

4.0%
18/19
4.4%
20/21
8.7%
21/22
7.5%
22/23
7.2%
23/24
7.2%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

Questions parents ask about St Columba's Catholic Primary School

What are SATs results like at St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

Of the pupils at St Columba's Catholic Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 88% reached the expected standard in reading and 84% did so in maths.

What is St Columba's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2018, it was rated Good.

What is the catchment area for St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

No fixed boundary. When St Columba's Catholic Primary School is oversubscribed, Birmingham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.

Is it hard to get a place at St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 91% of its 210 places.

How big are the classes at St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

Classes at St Columba's Catholic Primary School average 26.1 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 St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School has around 183 pupils on roll. 46% are eligible for free school meals.

What is attendance like at St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

7.2% of sessions were missed at St Columba's Catholic Primary School in 2024/25. 21.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).

How do I apply to St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

Apply through Birmingham's coordinated admissions process, naming St Columba'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.

How many road collisions happen near St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 36 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 13 serious and 23 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 2 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 Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 schools, same distance and years).

Where is St Columba's Catholic Primary School?

St Columba's Catholic Primary School is at Lickey Road, Rednal, Birmingham, West Midlands, B45 8TD.

Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)

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