St Dominic Savio Catholic Primary School

About the school

A warm welcome to St Dominic Savio Catholic Primary School. We are an aspirational school where all can achieve. Our Catholic ethos recognises each one of us is unique and each one of us is special. We are a two-form entry primary school in Woodley, Berkshire, with 60 places per year group. We are very popular and are oversubscribed with request for places. Our Ofsted inspection in February 2020 graded us an outstanding school.

We are in pursuit of high expectations and high achievement for all our pupils. Whatever a child’s background or starting point, we want to make sure that they finish Year 6 with the academic knowledge and social skills necessary to succeed – we want our children to be Scholars. As a Catholic school, we provide a calm, nurturing learning environment where teachers really know pupils and their parents, and every child can flourish.

We want every pupil to have a love of learning and be well prepared for the transition to secondary school. We focus on academic attainment in all subjects and a rigorous knowledge-rich traditional curriculum. It is richly varied and affords opportunities for each and every pupil to shine. We are passionate about the arts and competitive sport. Rigour and a desire to improve are integral. We adopt a formal approach to teaching – from the age of four upwards – which is similar to independent schools.

By choosing this school for their children, it is considered that parents have agreed to them having full participation in every aspect of the curriculum. This includes religious education, physical education, sports lessons, music lessons and all school trips including those to places of worship and our parish church.

The school continually exceeds national academic expectations. The Sunday Times 2020 Parent Power Guide ranks us as one of the best state primary schools in England. Our exam results compete with the very best independent preparatory schools in England as well. In 2018, we were ranked as the highest performing school in the 3Rs across all of Wokingham, Reading, Bracknell and West Berkshire.

We promote a no excuses culture at St Dominic Savio – all can achieve if they work hard. Behaviour is outstanding. Everything we do in school is rooted around the gospel values. Our approach instils strong learning habits, ultimately helping pupils become better qualified, more successful and happier. We expect pupils to follow homework and equipment rules, wear uniform with pride and always be ‘on task’, fully engaged and ready to learn. Classrooms are formal in their approach (children sit in rows) with a focus on teacher instruction. Aspiration and a Catholic ethos which ensures pupils are consistently kind and friendly are absolute.

“Work hard, be kind”.

We look forward to welcoming you to our fabulous school – we are one big family. Do contact us if you would like to see us in action.

James Broadbridge

Headteacher

March 2020