SchoolFacts.uk

St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School

Primary · Portsmouth · PO1 1PX

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

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

Inspected 12 July 2022

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

237 pupils · 113% of 210 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
26% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
56.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.stjohnscathedralschool.org.uk/
URN
116385

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 47 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.57 first choices per place. We hold 2 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2025 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 12 July 2022, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.57 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 47 first-choice applications · heavily 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.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

Other Christian Child
0.245 miles

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
83%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
13%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
107
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
107
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 school83%
Median of its 12 closest peers68.5%
Portsmouth average56.1%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of 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
Freezywater St George's CofE VA Primary SchoolEnfield · 75 miles awayExpected standard64%
Good Shepherd Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolCroydon · 60 miles awayGood52%
St Anne's Roman Catholic Primary School BlackburnBlackburn · 212 miles awayNeeds attention59%
St William of York Roman Catholic Primary SchoolBolton · 199 miles awayOutstanding84%
Holy Name Roman Catholic Primary School ManchesterManchester · 190 miles awayOutstanding73%
Roundthorn Primary AcademyOldham · 194 miles awayGood73%
Herbert Morrison Primary SchoolLondon · 63 miles awayOutstanding88%
Walliscote Primary SchoolWeston-Super-Mare · 90 miles awayNeeds attention49%
SS Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary SchoolIlford · 73 miles awayNo current grade80%
St John Vianney RC Primary SchoolLondon · 69 miles awayOutstanding77%
Cedars Manor SchoolHarrow · 64 miles awayRequires improvement54%
St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary SchoolCoventry · 114 miles awayGood62%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 29% (Portsmouth 9%, England 5%) · Any other White background 24% (Portsmouth 7%, England 7%) · White British 20% (Portsmouth 62%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 5% (Portsmouth 3%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black African 5% (Portsmouth 2%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Portsmouth 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Portsmouth 2%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Portsmouth 3%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Portsmouth 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 2% (Portsmouth 2%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Portsmouth 1%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 1% (Portsmouth 1%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Portsmouth 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

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)
3.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
4.9%
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 · Portsmouth: 3.19 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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
19.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

73% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 27% 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)

43.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 13.9 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 £49,841; 13.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£7,755
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (8%) · supplies and services 10% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 6% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £222,575; in-year balance -£84,628

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher19.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications30.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work13.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways40.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health38%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier15.5%62.3%
Social housing69.2%17.1%
Privately rented15%20.5%
Detached houses0.6%22.9%
Flats83.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms4.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van56.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01017031 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£210,000516 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£165,000–£239,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Semi-detached (15)£450,000
Terraced (354)£223,000
Flat (143)£120,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of 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
11an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
21an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
147an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
21an 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