Primary
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
High Road, Kells, Whitehaven, CA28 9PG
Key facts
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 195 of 180 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.3
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Religious character
- Yes
- Nursery
- Yes
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 9.6
- All staff (FTE)
- 14.7
- Pupils per adult
- 13.3
- Pupils
- 195
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected May 2025
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Early yearsOutstanding
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Quality of educationGood
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)SATs results
76%
19 points above the Whitehaven average (57% across 11 schools)
109.0
5.2 above the Whitehaven average (103.8 across 11 schools)
1st of 11 by our score, among the primary schools in Whitehaven we can score - 14 in total, the rest without enough published data. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 107 |
| Average reading score | 109 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 76% |
| Working at a higher standard | 12% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time3 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 79% |
| 23/24 | 78% |
| 24/25 | 76% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 107.0 |
| 23/24 | 108.0 |
| 24/25 | 109.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 107.0 |
| 23/24 | 105.0 |
| 24/25 | 107.0 |
High Road, Kells, Whitehaven, CA28 9PG
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Cumberland admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Susan Starkie
- Address
- High Road, Kells, Whitehaven, CA28 9PG
- Telephone
- 0194666356