St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School, St Helens
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in St Helens. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 21st-highest of the 36 schools in St Helens with published results, and 9,396th of 14,452 across England. It was 97% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2014)
- 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 St. Helens (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School in detail
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "There are daily Acts of Worship, Collective Worship and a 15-minute playtime during the morning."
From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School, and thank you for taking an interest in our school. Our mission statement, 'With Christ as our guide, we Love, Aspire and Serve', sits at the heart of everything we do."
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care.
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 77% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 74% in St. Helens and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 61% in reading and 68% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 28 families put St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School as their first choice and 52 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School are Carr Mill Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 66% reading, 66% maths); Ashurst Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 73% reading, 67% maths); St. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary School (0.9 miles, Good, 74% reading, 62% maths); and Parish Church of England Primary School, St Helens (1 mile, Outstanding, 67% reading, 77% maths).
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Carr Mill Primary SchoolAshurst Primary SchoolSt. Mary's Blackbrook Catholic Primary SchoolParish Church of England Primary School, St Helens
What parents say
48 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School (as of September 2025): 92% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 86% 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 has high expectations for their child (79%).
Who goes there
5.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Staffing
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School had 8 teachers in 2026, one for every 26 pupils: fewer teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is St Helens Central Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.
14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Peter And Paul School (nw-bound), 20 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School are St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy (1.1 miles) and Cowley International College (1.1 miles).
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic AcademyCowley International College
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; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from July 2014, 12 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 Peter and St Paul's creates a warm, welcoming environment where children love coming to school and feel safe. Teachers are well-trained and use clever strategies to check understanding, helping most pupils achieve well. The school goes above and beyond with excellent phonics teaching, parent workshops, and a fantastic range of clubs and activities that develop the whole child.
Key Strengths
- Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviour with a calm, purposeful atmosphere for learning
- Strong phonics teaching and love of reading promoted effectively, with good parent engagement
- Staff receive high-quality curriculum training and explain concepts clearly
- Pupils with SEND are well-supported to access the full curriculum
- Wide range of enrichment activities and responsible roles help develop well-rounded young people
Areas for Improvement
- Writing curriculum in Years 3-6 lacks precision, with unclear small steps of learning that hinder fluency and automaticity
- Reading curriculum beyond phonics does not set out precise knowledge and skills for Years 3-6, delaying confidence and fluency in some pupils
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with a positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Football, choir, chess, darts clubs, visits from authors and theatre companies, rugby players, charity fundraising, food bank donations
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School is a good primary school where pupils thoroughly enjoy learning and benefit from warm relationships with staff. The school is ambitious for all pupils and most achieve well across the curriculum.
At a Glance
18.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
48 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 61% to 68% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 68% to 77% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 81% to 77% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
28.1
Avg class size
27.7
Infant (KS1)
28.5
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
Keep up with St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School 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
- 24
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 8
- Children hurt
- 5
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 24 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 16 slight.
5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
0 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
Will you get a place at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School.
- St. Helens publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School for 2014 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
97%
Near capacity
204 pupils
210 places
6 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
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
27
SEN Support
8
EHC Plans
17.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
197
Total Pupils
99
Boys
98
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
8
Teachers
24.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£47,766
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,362
Per pupil
£1206k
Total funding
£55k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.4%
Overall absence
7.8%
Persistent absence
179
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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 68% reached the expected standard in reading and 77% did so in maths.
What is St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Peter and St Paul 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 July 2014, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 97% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
Classes at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School average 28.1 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School has around 197 pupils on roll. 18% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
4.4% of sessions were missed at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School in 2024/25. 7.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
Apply through St. Helens's coordinated admissions process, naming St Peter and St Paul 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 24 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 8 serious and 16 slight. 5 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 0 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 Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School?
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School is at Derwent Road, Haresfinch, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 9AT.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)