St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Southampton Review 2026: High-attaining Catholic primary with a strong music and reading culture

In Sholing, the day starts early and with clear routines. Playground gates open at 8:30am and classrooms at 8:45am, giving families a steady run-in to registration rather than a last-minute rush. The school is Roman Catholic and its faith life is visible in day-to-day opportunities for service and leadership, not only in assemblies.

Academically, the headline is Key Stage 2 outcomes that sit well above England averages across the core suite, alongside scaled scores that suggest confident depth, not just threshold performance. St Patrick's also has a practical advantage for many working families, with on-site wraparound provision running from 7:30am to 6:00pm.

The most consistent description, across official evidence, is a school that feels positive and purposeful. The April 2025 Ofsted visit described pupils as thriving, behaviour as exemplary, and pastoral support as a reason pupils feel safe and understood.

Faith is not presented as a bolt-on. Pupil groups such as Mini Vinnies (a junior St Vincent de Paul service team) give children a structured way to turn values into action, and that matters for families who want a Catholic school where the ethos shows up in daily life rather than only in formal worship.

There is also a clear sense of continuity. The site history notes a school presence dating back to 1883, and a major rebuild in 1969 that created the current school building. For parents, that translates into a well-established local institution with a long community footprint, rather than a newly assembled provision still finding its rhythms.

Leadership is stable. The headteacher is Mr Michael Lobo, who joined as headteacher in September 2017.

This is a primary school with published Key Stage 2 performance indicators that read as consistently strong. At the combined expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, 84.67% of pupils met the benchmark. The England average in the same measure is 62%. That is a wide gap, and it is hard to achieve without coherent teaching and tight assessment.

Depth is also a feature. At the higher standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, 31.67% reached the stronger benchmark, compared with an England average of 8%. That typically signals pupils who can apply concepts flexibly, not just reproduce methods.

Scaled scores reinforce the picture. Reading is 108, mathematics is 108, and grammar, punctuation and spelling is 107, all above the typical national reference point for scaled scores.

In FindMySchool's ranking based on official outcomes data, St Patrick's ranks 2,377th in England for primary outcomes and 6th in Southampton locally. In plain terms, that sits above the England average, within the top quarter of schools in England. Parents comparing options locally can use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to line these indicators up against other Southampton primaries.

Early reading is a strategic priority, with a phonics programme that starts from the beginning of Reception. The key point for parents is not the branding of a scheme, it is the delivery and the speed of intervention when a child starts to wobble. The most recent official evaluation describes staff as moving quickly to provide extra support so pupils keep pace and become fluent readers by the end of Key Stage 1.

Mathematics also appears to be structured and confidence-building, with pupils using precise vocabulary early on. For a child who likes pattern, reasoning and explanation, that can be the difference between merely coping and properly enjoying the subject.

In the wider curriculum, arts are not treated as filler. Music and art are described as significant strengths, and the detail matters: pupils learn to read musical notation and use it to sing, clap and play in rhythm. That is a more demanding musical foundation than simple performance alone.

Support for additional needs is also specific rather than generic. The Shamrock Room is cited as a key support base for pupils with higher levels of special educational needs and disabilities, helping them access the wider curriculum. If you are a family balancing high attainment with additional needs, that combination is often hard to find in a single setting.

As a Southampton primary, transfer to secondary is shaped by the city’s coordinated admissions process, travel patterns across the east of the city, and family priorities around school ethos. For most pupils, the practical next step is a mainstream secondary place allocated through the local authority process.

For Catholic families, the transition question often includes continuity of ethos as well as academics. The most sensible approach is to treat Year 5 as the planning year, shortlist likely secondary routes, and then use Year 6 to firm up transport and pastoral fit. If your child has additional needs or you anticipate needing specific support at secondary, begin conversations early, because successful transition is usually built through planning, not last-minute form filling.

St Patrick's is a voluntary aided Catholic school. That matters because the local authority coordinates the main application, but the school’s admissions policy and governing body arrangements shape oversubscription criteria, especially where faith evidence is part of the route. The school’s admissions guidance is clear that families applying under faith categories should complete a Supplementary Information Form and provide supporting documents, such as a baptism certificate, alongside the Southampton City Council application.

For September 2026 entry to Reception, Southampton City Council states that applications opened on Monday 1 September 2025 and closed on 15 January 2026 at 11:59pm. If you missed the deadline, late applications are possible, but families should assume that oversubscribed schools will be harder to access once the main round has run.

Demand looks real. The most recent published Reception admissions data shows 104 applications for 55 offers, and the school is recorded as oversubscribed. That is roughly 1.89 applications per place, a level where small differences in criteria, distance, or faith documentation can decide outcomes.

Open events are advertised as running in Autumn 2025 for the Reception 2026 cohort. Dates change year to year, so the sensible pattern assumption is that open sessions typically fall in the early autumn term, with booking details confirmed by the school.

Parents considering applying should use FindMySchool Map Search to understand their likely travel pattern and to sanity-check the practicality of daily routines alongside wraparound care.

Pastoral support is described as a strength, with pupils feeling safe and understood and behaviour described as calm and respectful. The implication for families is that this is a school where routines and relationships help pupils focus, rather than a setting where behaviour management consumes learning time.

Support for pupils with additional needs is not framed as a separate track. The combination of early identification, staff training and a dedicated support space (the Shamrock Room) suggests an approach designed to keep pupils included in the main curriculum wherever possible.

Safeguarding is addressed directly in the most recent report. Safeguarding arrangements were judged effective at the April 2025 inspection.

Clubs and activities are varied, but what helps parents is the specificity of what actually runs. The published clubs list includes Musical Theatre (for both younger and older year groups), Orchestra, and Upper School Choir, which aligns with the wider picture of music as a genuine strength.

Sport is structured too. The same clubs list includes football training with separate boys and girls provision for older pupils, alongside athletics skills, basketball, dodgeball and gymnastics. For a child who needs a nudge into sport, the “skills” framing can feel more inclusive than purely competitive squads.

Faith-linked clubs sit alongside mainstream options. Mini Vinnies and Jesus Club (J-Club) are explicitly listed, providing a straightforward route for pupils who enjoy service, reflection and group discussion.

The wider enrichment picture includes purposeful projects. Examples cited in official evidence include writing letters in Spanish to pen pals and collaborating online with pupils in India in a STEM project. That kind of outward-facing work is a good sign for families who want curiosity and confidence built through real tasks, not only worksheets.

The official school day differs slightly by phase. For Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, the day runs 8:45am to 3:20pm, with gates opening earlier. Reception has a slightly different timing, listed as 8:50am to 3:15pm.

Wraparound care is a practical strength. Little Shamrocks Breakfast and After School Club runs on site from 7:30am to 6:00pm, with breakfast club from 7:30am and after school provision from 3:20pm. Published session pricing is available, and the service accepts Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers.

For travel and parking, the school explicitly asks families to park considerately and notes free car parks within a five minute walk in Woolston, which is useful context if you are weighing a longer drive against a walk-and-drop routine.

• Oversubscription is a real constraint. With 104 applications for 55 offers in the most recent published Reception data, admission depends on criteria detail as well as desire. Families should treat the supplementary faith paperwork as time-critical, not optional.

• A voluntary aided Catholic admissions route can be document-heavy. If you are applying under faith criteria, you will need to organise supporting evidence alongside the local authority application, and small admin errors can have outsized consequences.

• Wraparound is excellent, but it is still a commitment. A 7:30am start and a 6:00pm finish can be a lifeline for working parents, but it also makes for a long day for some children. Think carefully about how your child regulates after busy school days.

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Southampton combines a clear Catholic identity with outcomes that sit well above England averages and a curriculum that takes music, reading and wider enrichment seriously. It suits families who want a faith-centred school with high expectations, strong routines, and practical wraparound care that can make working life manageable. The main challenge is entry, demand is high, and families need to be organised with both the local authority application and any supplementary faith documentation.