St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School, Bootle
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Bootle. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the highest of the 12 schools in Bootle with published results, and 247th of 14,452 across England. For 2026 entry it had 1.9 first-choice applications for every place. It was full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2024)
- Demand
- 1.9 first choices per place
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Sefton (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School in detail
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Hello my name is Mairead O'Neill Dowell and I am Headteacher at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School. At St Robert Bellarmine every child really matters!"
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care, from £12.20 per session.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 97% of Year 6 pupils at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 97% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 75% and 74% in Sefton and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 90% in reading and 93% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 56 families put St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School as their first choice and 126 named it as one of their preferences, for 30 places offered. That is 1.9 first choices for every place. 26 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School are Springwell Park Community Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 50% reading, 41% maths); St Philip's Church of England Controlled Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 52% reading, 59% maths); St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 83% reading, 88% maths); and English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles, Good, 73% reading, 82% maths).
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 4 of them.
Springwell Park Community Primary SchoolSt Philip's Church of England Controlled Primary SchoolSt Elizabeth's Catholic Primary SchoolEnglish Martyrs' Catholic Primary School
Who goes there
14.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 2.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 30 pupils (12.7%) received SEN support and 5 (2.1%) 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 autism.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Seaforth & Litherland Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Harris Drive (adjacent), 30 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 385 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Sefton (165), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School are King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes (0.3 miles), The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco (0.6 miles) and Litherland High School (0.9 miles).
King's Leadership Academy HawthornesThe Salesian Academy of St John BoscoLitherland High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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 agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's July 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school excels at creating a calm, purposeful learning environment where all pupils achieve exceptionally well. Teachers are highly skilled experts in their subjects and use assessment data brilliantly to address any learning gaps quickly. The school also provides an impressive range of enrichment activities and opportunities for pupils to develop leadership skills while supporting local charities.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional academic achievement across all subjects with expert subject teaching and excellent use of assessment data
- Outstanding behaviour and attitudes throughout the school, established from Nursery onwards
- Highly ambitious and well-designed curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils including those with SEND
- Strong focus on reading from Nursery through to older pupils with a successful reading graduate programme
- High attendance rates and excellent pupil engagement in learning
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with leaders and staff prioritising pupils' interests and creating an open, positive culture around safeguarding.
Extracurricular Activities
Pop club, football, art, computing, prefects, sports champions, pupil council, careers afternoon, breakfast club
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School is an outstanding primary school where pupils flourish in a happy, welcoming environment with exceptionally strong relationships between staff and students. The school has the highest expectations for all pupils' academic achievement and provides a highly ambitious curriculum.
At a Glance
14.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 90% to 97% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 93% to 97% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 90% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
29.4
Avg class size
29.3
Infant (KS1)
30.7
KS2
7
Total classes
2 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
Online Safety Newsletter - October 2026
2 Oct 2026
Spring Issue All About Family Sefton
23 Mar 2026
Attendance Reward
9 Jan 2026
Letter to Parents re Parking
17 Nov 2025
Autumn Issue All About Family Sefton
3 Oct 2025
Winter Issue All About the Family Sefton
16 Dec 2024
From St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School.
- Fun 4 Kidz - St Elizabeth's700m away · Not yet graded
- Fun 4 Kidz - English Martyrs'950m away · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School is in Sefton; for families living there:
- Sefton's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy ext
- How to apply: Apply for Travel Support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 8 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 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 Sefton is 16 (the median across 116 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 Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
Will you get a place at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School.
- Sefton publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Sefton 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
100%
Full
210 pupils
210 places
No spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bootle
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bootle
Across Sefton council
Places available
3,080
Applications
2,586
Got 1st preference
91.4%
Got preferred school
98.6%
All primary applications across Sefton council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: 1.9 first choices per place
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
30
SEN Support
5
EHC Plans
14.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
236
Total Pupils
127
Boys
109
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
10
Teachers
23.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£57,375
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,309
Per pupil
£1236k
Total funding
£45k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.0%
Overall absence
4.9%
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 Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 97% reached the expected standard in reading and 97% did so in maths.
What is St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School was rated Outstanding at its most recent Ofsted inspection in July 2024.
What is the catchment area for St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School is oversubscribed, Sefton allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School was full in 2025, at 100% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
Classes at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School average 29.4 pupils (2025/26). 2 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School has around 236 pupils on roll. 14% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
4% of sessions were missed at St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School in 2024/25. 4.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
Apply through Sefton's coordinated admissions process, naming St Robert Bellarmine 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 Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists 2 out-of-school clubs within a kilometre of St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School: Fun 4 Kidz - St Elizabeth's (700m away, registered, not yet graded) and Fun 4 Kidz - English Martyrs' (950m 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 Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 8 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on a bicycle and 2 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 Sefton is 16 (the median across 116 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School?
St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Primary School is at Harris Drive, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 6ED.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)