St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy, St Helens
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 7 in St Helens, part of The Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academies Trust. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was 83% full in 2025.
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to St. Helens (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy in detail
Getting a place at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
For September 2026 entry, 44 families put St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy as their first choice and 83 named it as one of their preferences, for 46 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 Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy are St Mary's Catholic Junior Academy (0.2 miles, 81% reading, 81% maths); Newton-le-Willows Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 74% reading, 73% maths); The District CofE Primary School (0.4 miles, 77% reading, 71% maths); and St Peter's CofE Primary School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 89% reading, 91% maths).
St Mary's Catholic Junior AcademyNewton-le-Willows Primary SchoolThe District CofE Primary SchoolSt Peter's CofE Primary School
The trust
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy is one of 11 schools run by The Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academies Trust, an academy trust.
All 11 schools in The Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academies Trust
Who goes there
11.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 7.5% 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%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Earlestown Rail Station, about 560 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Water Street (adjacent), 60 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy issued 2 suspensions, 1.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy are Hope Academy (0.5 miles); The Byrchall High School (1.8 miles); and St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield (1.8 miles).
Hope AcademyThe Byrchall High SchoolSt Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in March 2024. Before that, as St Mary's Catholic Infant School (URN 104817), it was rated Requires Improvement in May 2018.
At a Glance
11.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
23.3
Avg class size
23.2
Infant (KS1)
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy.
- Simply The Best Activity CampAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy is in St. Helens; for families living there:
Apply to St. Helens for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 17
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 14 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot, 3 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
8 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 St. Helens is 11.5 (the median across 80 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 Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
Will you get a place at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy.
- St. Helens publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy for 2024 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in St. Helens 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
83%
Available places
150 pupils
180 places
30 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - St Helens
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for St Helens
Across St. Helens council
Places available
2,180
Applications
1,809
Got 1st preference
90.3%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All primary applications across St. Helens council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
20
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
17.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
173
Total Pupils
89
Boys
84
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
19.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,479
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,470
Per pupil
£905k
Total funding
£24k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.6%
Overall absence
5.4%
Persistent absence
111
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 Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
Questions parents ask about St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy
What is St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy's Ofsted rating?
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy has not been inspected by Ofsted since it took its current form in March 2024. Before that, as St Mary's Catholic Infant School (URN 104817), it was rated Requires Improvement in May 2018.
What is the catchment area for St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
No fixed boundary. When St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy is oversubscribed, St. Helens allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 83% of its 180 places.
How big are the classes at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
Classes at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy average 23.3 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy has around 173 pupils on roll. 12% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
3.6% of sessions were missed at St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy in 2024/25. 5.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
Apply through St. Helens's coordinated admissions process, naming St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy 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 Mary's Catholic Infant Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Simply The Best Activity Camp (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 Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 17 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 14 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot, 3 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 8 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 St. Helens is 11.5 (the median across 80 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy?
St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy is at Victoria Road, Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Merseyside, WA12 9RX.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)