SchoolFacts.uk

St Mary Magdalene Catholic Primary School

Primary · Bexhill-on-Sea · TN40 2ND

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 21 January 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

208 pupils · 99% of 211 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
10.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
16.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
9.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.stmarymags.co.uk
URN
114565

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 33 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.10 first choices per place. We hold 10 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2017 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 21 January 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.10 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 33 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

28 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
64%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
14%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
105
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
106
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school64%
Median of its 12 closest peers77.5%
East Sussex average60.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Saint John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy, Wigston, LeicestershireWigston · 138 miles awayStrong standard80%
St Leonard's Primary SchoolStafford · 174 miles awayRequires improvement50%
Grange CofE Primary SchoolGrange-over-Sands · 272 miles awayGood75%
St Andrew's CofE Primary School, Over HultonBolton · 225 miles awayNeeds attention90%
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary School, Walton-le-DalePreston · 240 miles awayGood53%
St Adrian Roman Catholic Primary SchoolSt Albans · 71 miles awayGood80%
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolUttoxeter · 174 miles awayOutstanding90%
Bishop Perrin Church of England Primary SchoolTwickenham · 56 miles awayOutstanding83%
Holywell Primary SchoolSittingbourne · 37 miles awayGood84%
St Michael's CofE Primary School, SunninghillAscot · 63 miles awayGood (2016)50%
Fawbert and Barnard's Primary SchoolOld Harlow · 66 miles awayExpected standard52%
Little Waltham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolChelmsford · 65 miles awayGood70%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 65% (East Sussex 81%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 8% (East Sussex 2%, England 4%) · Any other White background 8% (East Sussex 5%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (East Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (East Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (East Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Black African 1% (East Sussex 2%, England 5%) · White Irish 1% (East Sussex 0%, England 0%) · Not recorded 1% (East Sussex 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
7.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · East Sussex: 2.91 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

69% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 31% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

45.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 2.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,277; 18.2% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,737
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 12% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 5% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £47,871; in-year balance -£56,967

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher23.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health37.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier83.2%62.3%
Social housing3.1%17.1%
Privately rented13.7%20.5%
Detached houses50.1%22.9%
Flats10.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms12.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van12.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021128 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£312,500465 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£247,500–£375,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (193)£375,000
Semi-detached (97)£315,000
Terraced (61)£272,000
Flat (114)£185,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
16an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools