St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Kettering
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Kettering, part of St Mary's Church of England Va Primary Academy. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2011. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 9th-highest of the 35 schools in Kettering with published results, and 4,096th of 14,452 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2011)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to North Northamptonshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in detail
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Welcome to our wonderful, nurturing and caring school where we encourage every child to meet their full potential. Our Christian values are the heartbeat of our loving school. As a fully inclusive school, we acknowledge the uniqueness of every child nurturing everyone to dream big and achieve. Our school offers the highest educational provision within a creative and stimulating environment."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 81% of Year 6 pupils at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 86% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 73% and 73% in North Northamptonshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (82% in reading, 82% in maths).
Getting a place at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 27 families put St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School as their first choice and 63 named it as one of their preferences, for 32 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 Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School are Compass Primary Academy (0.4 miles, Good, 69% reading, 74% maths); Kettering Park Junior Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 73% reading, 77% maths); Grange Primary Academy (0.5 miles, Good, 57% reading, 63% maths); and Kettering Park Infant Academy (0.5 miles, Good).
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 3 of them.
Compass Primary AcademyKettering Park Junior AcademyGrange Primary AcademyKettering Park Infant Academy
The trust
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is run by its own single-school academy trust.
What parents say
39 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (as of September 2025): 87% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 72% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (92%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (72%).
Who goes there
44.7% 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 (27%) and Asian (10%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kettering Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.
5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Buccleuch PH (after), 140 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 454 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in North Northamptonshire (141), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School issued 3 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 Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School are Kettering Science Academy (0.4 miles), Kettering Buccleuch Academy (0.7 miles), Southfield School for Girls (1.1 miles) and Bishop Stopford School (1.2 miles).
Kettering Science AcademyKettering Buccleuch AcademySouthfield School for GirlsBishop Stopford School
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 May 2011, 15 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 January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
St Mary's is a warm, caring school where children thrive in an environment built on kindness and respect. The school excels at teaching reading and mathematics, with pupils becoming fluent readers and confident mathematicians who enjoy their learning. Staff get to know every child individually and provide excellent pastoral support, ensuring pupils feel secure and happy.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading culture with well-trained staff delivering effective phonics teaching and engaging texts throughout the school
- Ambitious curriculum that is well-designed in most subjects with clear explanations and effective checks on pupil understanding
- High-quality pastoral support creating a warm, secure environment where pupils feel happy and know they can share worries with trusted adults
- Excellent range of clubs and extracurricular activities that ignite pupils' interests and develop diverse talents
- Excellent behaviour rooted in warm relationships with staff and the school's single rule of 'Do everything in love'
Areas for Improvement
- Some subjects lack clear identification of essential knowledge and opportunities for pupils to revisit learning, meaning pupils cannot build on previous knowledge effectively
- Learning activities sometimes do not match the intended curriculum in certain subjects, limiting the depth of knowledge pupils can acquire
- Inconsistent curriculum design in a few subjects means pupils do not remember what they have learned or make connections as intended
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with clear policies and procedures in place to keep pupils safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports clubs, knitting, skateboarding, Worship Warriors, language and phonics ambassadors, school council
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a caring, loving school where pupils are respectful and kind to each other. The school has been judged Good across all areas including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
At a Glance
26.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
39 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 remained stable at around 81% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 82% to 86% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 74% to 81% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.0
Avg class size
25.3
Infant (KS1)
29.6
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
Keep up with St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.
- Five Star Holiday Clubs600m away · Not yet graded
- Premier @ Grange780m away · Not yet graded
- Beccy Hurrell Voice & Arts870m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see North Northamptonshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
You apply to the council where you live. St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is in North Northamptonshire; for families living there:
- North Northamptonshire's school travel policy: Home to school transport policies and codes of conduct
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 42
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 7
- Children hurt
- 10
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 42 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 7 serious and 35 slight.
10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 2 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 North Northamptonshire is 9 (the median across 154 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 Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Will you get a place at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.
- North Northamptonshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in North Northamptonshire 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
98%
Near capacity
262 pupils
266 places
4 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Kettering
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Kettering
Across North Northamptonshire council
Places available
4,565
Applications
3,751
Got 1st preference
93.9%
Got preferred school
98.9%
All primary applications across North Northamptonshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
30
SEN Support
15
EHC Plans
17.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
257
Total Pupils
133
Boys
124
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
13
Teachers
19.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,025
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,752
Per pupil
£1693k
Total funding
£94k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.6%
Overall absence
13.8%
Persistent absence
240
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 Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 81% reached the expected standard in reading and 86% did so in maths.
What is St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2011, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is oversubscribed, North Northamptonshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
Classes at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School average 28 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 Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has around 257 pupils on roll. 27% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
4.6% of sessions were missed at St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School in 2024/25. 13.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
Apply through North Northamptonshire's coordinated admissions process, naming St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists 3 out-of-school clubs within a kilometre of St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School: Five Star Holiday Clubs (600m away, registered, not yet graded), Premier @ Grange (780m away, registered, not yet graded) and Beccy Hurrell Voice & Arts (870m 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 Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 42 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 7 serious and 35 slight. 10 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 6 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 2 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 North Northamptonshire is 9 (the median across 154 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?
St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is at Fuller Street, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN16 0JH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)