SCHOOL PROFILE

St John Rigby Catholic Primary School

Primary Academy converter URN 139515
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 63.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

26 September 2023
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Bedford
Trust OUR LADY IMMACULATE CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST LTD
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 268 268 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 140 52.2% of pupils
Male pupils 128 47.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

11.9%
12.9 pts below England
School 11.9%
Bedford 20.1%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

29.5%
9.2 pts above England
School 29.5%
Bedford 23.1%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Bedford 1.8%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
32.1%
86
African
28.4%
76
Any other White background
14.6%
39
Indian
5.2%
14
Any other Mixed background
4.5%
12
White and Black Caribbean
4.1%
11
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 16.4% 44 of 268 pupils
4.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 16.4%
Bedford 18.6%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 13.4% 36 pupils
England 14.8% 1.4 pts below
EHC plans 3.0% 8 pupils
England 6.0% 3.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 14
Moderate learning difficulty 10
Autistic spectrum disorder 6
Social, emotional & mental health 5
Physical disability 3
Hearing impairment 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

49.0% 11.4 pts below England
School 49.0%
Bedford 52.8%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

63.0%

10.8 pts below England

School 63.0%
Bedford 69.5%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

67.0%

3.3 pts below England

School 67.0%
Bedford 64.1%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

57.0%

15.0 pts below England

School 57.0%
Bedford 66.1%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.74%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.48 pts lower than England
School 4.74%
Bedford 5.81%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

11.50%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.32 pts lower than England
School 11.50%
Bedford 15.50%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Bedford 1.52%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

63.8% 24.4 pts below England
St John Rigby Catholic Primary School
63.8%
Bedford
83.7%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information