St Lawrence CofE Aided Junior School and St Alban’s Catholic Primary School are two well-known primary schools in East Molesey, Surrey. Both serve local families and educate children roughly between the ages of 4 and 11, although St Lawrence specifically teaches pupils aged 7–11 while St Alban’s covers the full primary age range. The schools differ in structure, ethos and inspection outcomes.

Official school websites
https://www.stlawrence-junior.surrey.sch.uk/
https://www.stalbans.surrey.sch.uk/

School structure

St Lawrence CofE Aided Junior School is a Church of England junior school. It teaches pupils from Year 3 to Year 6, so children typically attend an infant school first before transferring to St Lawrence for the junior phase. The school has around 300 pupils.

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic primary school that educates pupils from Reception through to Year 6. This means children can attend the school for their entire primary education rather than moving schools at age seven.

The structural difference is one of the main distinctions between the two schools.

Ofsted inspection outcomes

Inspection outcomes show a difference between the two schools.

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School has been rated Outstanding in its most recent full Ofsted inspection, receiving the highest ratings in areas such as quality of education, behaviour and leadership.

St Lawrence CofE Junior School was judged to be a Good school in its most recent Ofsted inspection.

Both schools were praised for strong behaviour and positive learning environments, though St Alban’s achieved the higher inspection grade.

School ethos

The ethos of the two schools also differs because of their religious foundations.

St Lawrence CofE Junior School is a Church of England school and promotes Christian values such as kindness, respect and community within its teaching and school life.

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School has a Catholic ethos. Catholic values, prayer and religious education play an important role in school life.

Facilities and learning environment

Both schools offer a broad primary curriculum including English, mathematics, science, arts and sports.

At St Lawrence, pupils are known to behave well, feel safe and enjoy learning within a structured and supportive curriculum.

At St Alban’s, pupils are highly engaged in school life and benefit from very high expectations across the curriculum.

Both schools provide extracurricular activities and opportunities for leadership and responsibility among pupils.

Size and community

St Alban’s is slightly larger with over 400 pupils across all primary year groups, while St Lawrence has around 300 pupils in the junior years.

Because St Lawrence only covers Years 3–6, its pupils typically move there after attending nearby infant schools such as The Orchard Infant School.

Overall comparison

St Lawrence CofE Junior School and St Alban’s Catholic Primary School are both respected schools serving the East Molesey community.

St Lawrence offers education for the junior years in a Church of England setting and has been judged to be a good school with strong behaviour and a well-structured curriculum.

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School provides a full primary education from Reception to Year 6 and has achieved an outstanding inspection rating, reflecting very strong teaching, leadership and pupil outcomes.

For many families the choice between the two schools depends on factors such as religious preference, whether they want a single primary school from Reception to Year 6, and which catchment area they live in.