St Clare's Catholic Primary School, Clacton-on-Sea Review 2026: Catholic primary with unusually strong KS2 outcomes

A Catholic primary where academic expectations are explicit and outcomes back them up. St Clare’s serves families around Little Clacton and the wider Clacton area, with an admissions policy that prioritises Catholic practice first, then other Christian faiths, before allocating remaining places by distance.

In the most recent KS2 results set (2024), 87% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 25% reached greater depth in reading, writing and maths, compared with an England average of 8%. FindMySchool ranks it 2,722nd in England for primary outcomes and 1st locally within Clacton-on-Sea, placing it above England average and comfortably within the top 25% of primary schools in England (FindMySchool ranking based on official data).

Leadership is stable, with Mr Jamie Whiteside named as headteacher, and recorded in the governance data from September 2022. The school is part of The Rosary Trust, a Catholic multi-academy trust.

The Catholic identity is not a light layer on top, it shapes daily routines and language. The school day includes structured moments of prayer, and the wider culture is framed around a clear set of shared expectations for behaviour and respect.

A practical, child-centred feel runs through how the school talks about learning and play. The OPAL programme (Outdoor Play and Learning) is a good example, it treats playtime as a designed part of the day rather than just a break. On the OPAL pages the school highlights aims such as self-regulation, physical activity, and learning to manage risk, and it spotlights roles like Play Leaders.

The site itself is described as having spacious playing fields and a traditional, functional set of core spaces: twelve classrooms, a large assembly hall, plus dedicated rooms including a music room, resource room, library, studio, and kitchen. That mix matters for day-to-day experience, it supports a primary that can run whole-school gatherings, small-group intervention, and practical curriculum work without constantly borrowing corners.

The nursery is a significant part of the school’s offer, with provision for two-year-olds referenced in formal material. The nursery is described as full-time (8am to 5pm) with two early years classrooms, which is a meaningful practical difference for working families weighing up wraparound logistics.

For a state primary, the headline KS2 picture is unusually strong.

In 2024:

• 87% reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the England average of 62%.

• 25% achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with the England average of 8%.

• 86% reached the expected standard in science (England average: 82%).

• Reading scaled score was 109; maths scaled score was 106; grammar, punctuation and spelling scaled score was 107.

Rankings add another layer of context for parents comparing nearby options. St Clare’s is ranked 2,722nd in England for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 1st locally within Clacton-on-Sea, placing it above England average and comfortably within the top 25% of primary schools in England (25th to 60th percentile is the middle band; this sits well above that threshold).

For families, the implication is straightforward: if you are looking for a school where high attainment is normalised rather than exceptional, the published figures suggest this is one of the more reliable local bets.

Early reading looks like a deliberate priority, with phonics positioned as a key plank of the early years and Reception approach. In the early years description, the school references daily phonics using My Letters and Sounds and structured maths teaching using White Rose, alongside a maths mastery approach.

The rhythm of the day also shows an emphasis on routines that support learning readiness. Staff presence from 08:40 and structured registration up to 08:55, followed by prayer, creates a clear start-of-day cadence that tends to suit pupils who benefit from predictability.

The July 2024 inspection evidence aligns with this academic tone, describing high expectations, strong recall checks, and a curriculum that is broad and ambitious. This matters because it suggests the KS2 outcomes are not a one-off spike, but linked to how lessons and knowledge-building are organised.

As a primary with nursery, the key transition points are Nursery to Reception and Year 6 to Year 7.

Nursery to Reception is not automatic. The admissions arrangements explicitly treat nursery attendance as a tie-break priority within categories rather than a guaranteed route, which is an important nuance for families assuming an “all-through” pathway.

For Year 6 leavers, the school signposts a set of local secondary options, including Clacton Coastal Academy, Tendring Technology College, County High School, and St Benedict’s Catholic College. That list gives a realistic sense of the local mix: non-selective options, a grammar route, and a Catholic secondary.

If your family is strongly committed to Catholic secondary education, St Benedict’s will likely be part of your shortlisting conversation early. If academic selection is on the table, County High becomes relevant in a different way, and families often start exploring the 11-plus landscape well before Year 6.

Entry pressure is real, even by the standards of popular primaries. In the most recent admissions demand data provided here, there were 85 applications for 45 offers, around 1.89 applications per place.

Admissions are coordinated through Essex County Council for Reception, but the school’s governing body sets detailed oversubscription categories. Catholic children from practising Catholic families in the named parishes sit at the top, evidenced through a Certificate of Catholic Practice. After that, the criteria widen to other Catholic children, then other looked-after children, then other Christian churches, and finally any other applications if places remain. When a tie-break is needed within a category, nursery attendance can provide priority, and then distance is used.

For September 2026 entry to Reception in Essex, the published timeline is:

• Applications open online from 10 November 2025

• Closing date is 15 January 2026

• National offer day is 16 April 2026

Because this is a faith school, families should also expect a supplementary form process alongside the local authority application, where required by the admissions policy, and should not leave that administrative detail to the last week.

Parents weighing competitiveness can use the FindMySchoolMap Search to check practical travel and understand the local pattern of demand, then cross-check against the school’s published oversubscription categories before relying on any single factor.

The school’s wellbeing information foregrounds practical health processes, absence reporting expectations, and a cautious medication policy, with clear boundaries around what can and cannot be administered during the day. That sort of clarity is often appreciated by parents, even when it feels strict, because it reduces ambiguity when children are unwell.

The July 2024 inspection evidence also supports a calm behavioural culture, describing behaviour as exemplary and pupils as feeling safe. It also references a nurture provision used to support some pupils in managing emotions, which suggests the pastoral model is not purely reward-and-sanction based but includes targeted, structured support.

Sport is not treated as an occasional add-on. The school describes a weekly sports club timetable (presented visually on the site) and a programme that includes competitive participation. Within PE, the school references the Real PE approach, aiming to build social, personal, cognitive, creative, and health and fitness skills alongside fundamental movement skills.

Extracurricular sport is strengthened by external providers, including Colchester United Community Foundation, Essex Professional Coaching, and Coastal Golf Academy, plus a menu of competitive activities that ranges from football and netball through to boccia, sitting volleyball, new age kurling, and tri-golf. The implication for pupils is breadth: children who are not traditional team-sport enthusiasts still have accessible ways to represent the school and build physical confidence.

The 2024 inspection report also points to clubs such as choir, culture club and mindfulness, plus enrichment through visitors and educational trips, including residential experiences. Those details matter because they show enrichment beyond sport, with arts, culture, and wellbeing threads running alongside academic focus.

The school day starts with registration from 08:40 to 08:55. Finish times vary by phase: 15:05 for Early Years, 15:10 for Key Stage 1, and 15:15 for Key Stage 2.

Wraparound care is in place. Breakfast club runs daily from 08:00 until the start of the school day. After-school childcare is run via the nursery provision and operates until 17:00; published charges apply for school-age children, while nursery charges vary by age, so families should refer to the school’s own information for early years pricing.

On travel, the school explicitly encourages walking where possible and asks drivers to park considerately. That typically signals a local, residential setting where drop-off congestion can become an issue.

• Faith-based oversubscription is decisive. Catholic practice and parish links sit high in the admissions order, and evidence such as a Certificate of Catholic Practice can matter for priority. Families without that link should read the criteria carefully before assuming distance will do the work.

• Competition for places is meaningful. With 85 applications for 45 offers in the available demand data, the constraint is entry, not the day-to-day offer once a place is secured.

• Phase finish times differ. Early Years finishes earlier than Key Stage 2, which is practical to plan for if you have children across phases, or if childcare pickup is tight.

• Nursery is a plus, but not a guarantee. Nursery attendance can help as a tie-break, but it does not create an automatic route into Reception.

St Clare’s Catholic Primary School, Clacton-on-Sea is a strong choice for families who want a clearly Catholic primary with high academic expectations and results that stand out locally. It suits pupils who respond well to consistent routines and a purposeful tone, and it particularly suits families for whom the faith criteria align with their practice and parish links. The limiting factor is admission; the education on offer is the easier part.