Christ The King Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Review 2026: Elite KS2 Results, Strong Catholic Life, Bramley Admissions

In Bramley, this Catholic primary combines a clearly structured school day with results that sit among the highest-performing primaries in England. FindMySchool’s latest primary outcomes place it in the top 2% nationally (England rank 110), and it ranks 1st locally in Leeds. That combination will appeal to families who want ambitious learning without losing the warmth of a smaller school, with a published capacity of 210 and around 168 pupils currently on roll.

The Catholic character is an organising principle rather than an add-on. Collective worship, parish links, and faith-in-action activity are embedded, and the school’s own language, “To live, to love, to serve, in the light of Christ the King”, signals a values-led culture.

Leadership is stable, with Mrs Anne-Marie Waide listed as headteacher across official and school sources.

A distinct feature here is the way the school frames community through faith and shared language. Classes are named after the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, which is more than cosmetic, it reinforces a consistent vocabulary for behaviour, relationships, and expectations across year groups.

The school describes a busy spiritual life, with prayer woven into daily classroom routines and whole-school collective worship on Mondays and Fridays, plus additional key stage worship each week. The parish church is positioned as a practical asset for school life, used for Mass and seasonal liturgies across the year. This matters for “fit”, families comfortable with explicit Catholic practice often find the consistency reassuring, while families seeking a more neutral approach should read the admissions policy carefully and ask direct questions at visits.

A second strand of atmosphere is the school’s emphasis on care as well as standards. Staff roles include a Nurture Suite team and a designated SENDCO, which suggests a pastoral structure designed to support pupils who need help regulating, re-engaging, or rebuilding confidence. The school also highlights a structured approach to wellbeing through an in-school therapy dog programme, detailed below, which signals a willingness to use evidence-informed interventions alongside traditional pastoral systems.

The performance picture is unusually strong for a state primary.

• Rankings: Ranked 110th in England and 1st in Leeds for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). This places the school among the highest-performing in England (top 2%).

• Expected standard (reading, writing, maths combined): 91% reached the expected standard, compared to an England average of 62%.

• Higher standard (greater depth across reading, writing, maths): 46.67% achieved the higher standard, compared to an England average of 8%.

• Scaled scores: Reading 113, mathematics 108, grammar, punctuation and spelling 114.

For parents, the implication is clear. This is a school where a large majority of pupils are securely meeting age-related expectations, and a significant proportion are moving beyond them. The higher-standard figure is especially meaningful because it suggests not only effective teaching, but also strong stretch for high-attaining pupils.

Families comparing local options should use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to check how these outcomes stack up against nearby primaries, particularly if you are balancing performance with travel time and wraparound needs.

The academic strength is best understood as a whole-school system rather than a single “star department”. The school presents curriculum intent by subject area and highlights progression, particularly in computing where it explicitly describes sequencing and cumulative skill-building year on year. This kind of planning tends to show up in consistent outcomes, because pupils are not repeatedly re-learning basics, they are extending prior knowledge.

Religious Education is positioned as central to school life, with the school stating it follows the Diocese of Leeds recommended scheme, The Way, The Truth, The Life. For Catholic families, this can be a strong positive because it aligns classroom learning with parish life. For families of other faiths, or no faith, the key question is comfort with a faith-forward environment and how inclusive practice is expressed day to day.

A practical detail that will matter to many families is staffing structure. The published staff list shows defined phase leadership, a deputy headteacher, and SEND support staffing through the Nurture Suite, which points to a school organised for consistency across phases rather than isolated year-group practice.

For a primary, “next steps” is often about transition confidence and the realism of local pathways.

The school explicitly links to Mount St Mary’s Catholic High School as a relevant secondary contact for families, which is a helpful indicator of common Catholic secondary progression routes. In practical terms, this usually means families can expect familiar expectations around Catholic life, as well as the benefits of established relationships between schools, for example around transition events and shared safeguarding practice.

Beyond named secondaries, the school also signals that transition is treated as a process rather than a single day. Its wider family support approach includes working with families during key transitions, including pupils moving on to secondary school, which can be particularly valuable for pupils who find change difficult.

Admissions are coordinated through Leeds City Council, with a clear, published timeline for Reception entry.

For Reception September 2026 entry, the school states:

• Application window opens: 01 November 2025

• National closing date: 15 January 2026

• National offer day: 16 April 2026

Families who want their child considered under Catholic criteria should expect to complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) alongside the local authority application, as the school’s admissions guidance makes clear.

The admissions policy is faith-informed and priority-based. Leeds’s school profile summarises that priority is given to Catholic looked after children, Catholic children with siblings at the school, Catholic children living in the defined area, then other Catholic children, followed by other criteria including Eastern Christian Church membership and other siblings.

Demand and what it means in practice

Demand data indicates a competitive picture: 52 total applications for 16 offers in the latest cycle shown which equates to 3.25 applications per place, and the school is flagged as oversubscribed. The implication is that families should treat admissions as uncertain unless they fit higher priority criteria.

Where catchment distance data is not published or not applicable, the best practical step is to check the defined area map and understand exactly how the oversubscription criteria apply to your circumstances. If you are shortlisting, the FindMySchoolMap Search is useful for sanity-checking your practical position relative to the school and likely local alternatives.

Pastoral support appears to operate on several levels: classroom routines shaped by shared values, targeted SEND and nurture support, and additional wellbeing interventions.

A distinctive wellbeing feature is Skye, The Dog Mentor, described as a certified therapy dog linked to the school’s human-animal bond programme. The school frames this as supporting children educationally, developmentally, emotionally and socially. For some pupils, particularly those who experience anxiety, low confidence, or difficulty settling, structured interventions like this can be a meaningful part of the school experience.

There is also explicit family-facing support. The school’s family support information sets out practical help for parents and carers, including guidance around routines, boundaries, e-safety, and mental wellbeing, plus signposting to local services. For families juggling complex circumstances, that breadth of support can materially change how manageable school life feels.

The latest Ofsted inspection (September 2021) judged the school Good.

The extracurricular offer is strongest where it connects directly to the school’s identity.

Mini Vinnies is a clear example. The school describes it as pupil-led, with children deciding agenda items, leading meetings, and running charitable activities. It gives a concrete example through an annual harvest appeal to support a local foodbank, and notes collaboration with the choir for public fundraising. The implication for pupils is that leadership is not confined to formal roles, it is practised through service, planning, and public-facing responsibility.

The school also highlights cultural and recognition markers such as Artsmark, which signals sustained attention to arts enrichment rather than one-off events. While the public list of termly clubs is provided as a downloadable document that is not reliably accessible in this environment, the site structure and published themes point to consistent enrichment strands across arts, leadership, faith, and wellbeing.

Wraparound care is a defined strength. The school states Breakfast Club runs 7.30am to 8.50am, and After School Club runs 3.20pm to 6.00pm. Breakfast club sessions are priced at £5.00 and are booked and paid in advance. This is particularly helpful for working families who need predictable coverage rather than ad hoc arrangements.

The school calendar page confirms the academic-year rhythm for 2025 to 2026, including a September start for Years 1 to 6 and transition-led start dates for new Reception pupils.

For travel, Leeds’s school profile indicates a 20mph zone outside school, plus cycle storage and scooter storage. Practical takeaway, active travel is supported, and drop-off tends to work best when families plan around local traffic management.

• Faith-informed admissions priorities. Priority categories are structured around Catholic practice and defined-area criteria. This can work very well for Catholic families who meet the criteria; it can be limiting for families outside them.

• Competition for places. Demand indicators show oversubscription and a high applications-to-offers ratio. Families should keep realistic backup options on their shortlist.

• A strongly Catholic daily experience. Prayer, worship and Mass attendance are part of normal school life. This clarity suits many families; others may prefer a less faith-forward environment.

This is a high-performing Catholic primary with an unusually strong results profile and a clear, values-led identity. It suits families who want ambitious learning, structured routines, and a faith-centred culture, and who can engage fully with the admissions criteria and timelines. The constraint is admissions competitiveness, so the best approach is to shortlist with backups and treat wraparound, travel, and priority criteria as decisive practical factors.