St Mark's Catholic Primary School, Liverpool
St Mark's Catholic Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Liverpool. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 19th-highest of the 177 schools in Liverpool with published results, and 2,629th of 14,452 across England. It was 92% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Knowsley (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Mark's Catholic Primary School in detail
St Mark's Catholic Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Our aim at St. Mark’s school is to provide the best possible education for our pupils, set within the framework of our Christian beliefs."
The school runs a breakfast club, from £2.30 per day.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 87% of Year 6 pupils at St Mark's Catholic Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 87% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in Knowsley and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 73% in reading and 80% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Mark's Catholic Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 23 families put St Mark's Catholic Primary School as their first choice and 54 named it as one of their preferences, for 28 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 Mark's Catholic Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Mark's Catholic Primary School are Plantation Primary School (0.3 miles, 70% reading, 70% maths); Halewood Church of England Primary Academy (0.3 miles, Good, 90% reading, 83% maths); Yew Tree Primary Academy (0.6 miles, Good, 41% reading, 44% maths); and St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 79% reading, 69% maths).
St Mark's Catholic Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Plantation Primary SchoolHalewood Church of England Primary AcademyYew Tree Primary AcademySt Andrew the Apostle Catholic Primary School
What parents say
25 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Mark's Catholic Primary School (as of September 2025): 96% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 33% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (33%).
Who goes there
37.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 8.3% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 50 pupils (23%) received SEN support and 11 (5.1%) 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 Halewood Rail Station, about 300 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).
16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Hornbeam Road (adjacent), 110 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Mark'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 103 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Knowsley (221).
Suspensions and exclusions
St Mark's Catholic Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
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 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 · 2 years agoThis judgement is from September 2019, 7 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 Insights
From Ofsted's October 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
St Mark's is a warm, inclusive school where pupils are happy, kind to each other and eager to learn. Children settle quickly into routines and develop strong relationships with staff and peers. The school is actively working to improve teaching and learning, with many staff delivering the curriculum effectively where they have secure subject knowledge.
Key Strengths
- Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and conduct themselves well in lessons and around school
- Strong relationships between pupils, staff and visitors with a warm, inclusive community
- School is taking steps to improve the curriculum by identifying essential knowledge pupils should learn
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities
- Good behaviour and personal development across the school
Areas for Improvement
- Some staff lack secure knowledge to teach certain curriculum subjects effectively, leading to weak pupil achievement in these areas
- Phonics teaching is inconsistent due to variability in staff subject knowledge and implementation
- Teachers do not always address errors in pupils' written work, allowing mistakes in letter formation, spelling and grammar to continue
- High proportion of pupils have poor attendance, meaning they miss important learning
- Governors' systems for checking school performance are new and need developing to hold the school more effectively to account
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
Extracurricular Activities
School council, sports council, worship warrior roles, sporting competitions, assembly programme
St Mark's Catholic Primary School is a happy, welcoming community where pupils enjoy attending and treat each other with respect. However, the quality of education requires improvement as some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in certain subjects.
At a Glance
37.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
25 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 improved from 73% to 87% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 80% to 87% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 63% to 70% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.1
Avg class size
26.0
Infant (KS1)
29.8
KS2
8
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 St Mark's Catholic Primary School
Newsletter 02.10.26
2 Oct 2026
Newsletter 25 09 26
25 Sep 2026
Newsletter 18.09.26
18 Sep 2026
Newsletter 11.09.26
11 Sep 2026
A Guide to Digital Parenthood
3 Sep 2026
Newsletter 17.07.26
17 Jul 2026
From St Mark's Catholic Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with St Mark's Catholic Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Mark's Catholic Primary School.
- Raring Stars - Plantation Primary490m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
St Mark'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 Knowsley's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Mark's Catholic Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Mark's Catholic Primary School is in Knowsley; for families living there:
Apply to Knowsley for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 14
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 12 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot.
3 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 Knowsley is 14 (the median across 63 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 St Mark's Catholic Primary School
Will you get a place at St Mark's Catholic Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Mark's Catholic Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Mark's Catholic Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Mark's Catholic Primary School.
- Knowsley publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Mark's Catholic Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Mark's Catholic Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Knowsley 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
92%
Near capacity
193 pupils
210 places
17 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Liverpool
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Liverpool
Across Knowsley council
Places available
2,085
Applications
1,953
Got 1st preference
86.6%
Got preferred school
96.3%
All primary applications across Knowsley council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(8)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
50
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
28.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
217
Total Pupils
96
Boys
121
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
19.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,871
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,988
Per pupil
£1351k
Total funding
£121k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.5%
Overall absence
19.8%
Persistent absence
182
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
St Mark's Catholic Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Mark's Catholic Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Mark's Catholic Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 87% reached the expected standard in reading and 87% did so in maths.
What is St Mark's Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Mark's Catholic Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Mark's Catholic Primary School is oversubscribed, Knowsley allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
St Mark's Catholic Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 92% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
Classes at St Mark's Catholic Primary School average 27.1 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 Mark's Catholic Primary School?
St Mark's Catholic Primary School has around 217 pupils on roll. 38% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
6.5% of sessions were missed at St Mark's Catholic Primary School in 2024/25. 19.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
Apply through Knowsley's coordinated admissions process, naming St Mark'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 St Mark'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 St Mark's Catholic Primary School: Raring Stars - Plantation Primary (490m 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 St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 12 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot. 3 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 Knowsley is 14 (the median across 63 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Mark's Catholic Primary School?
St Mark's Catholic Primary School is at Fir Avenue, Halewood, Liverpool, Merseyside, L26 0XR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)