St Louis
Catholic Academy

Christ at the Centre: Children at the Heart

St Louis is a school which is part of Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Multi Academy Trust.  Its commitment is to deliver outstanding educational, spiritual and moral outcomes for all children regardless of their faith or background within an ethos based on full inclusion, high expectations, innovation, outstanding teaching and learning, and a relentless focus on the needs and potential of every child. The Trust vision is that every school within the Trust has a reputation for excellence in their local communities and beyond.

The Trust is a Catholic-based, child-centred MAT.  We are founded on Catholic values which underpin every social, academic and pastoral relationship and the related behaviours which act as live witness to our Faith.   Inspired and supported by these values, we seek to develop the characteristics of effective learners in our children so that, whatever their future holds, they can approach this with character, confidence, resilience and a Christ-centred moral compass

Welcome to St Louis Catholic Academy

Welcome to St Louis Catholic Academy. At St Louis we welcome children from Nursery aged three to eleven, with many moving on to St Benedict's Catholic School in Bury St Edmunds. We are a calm and welcoming school with forty-five children in each year group.  We are continually working to improve and develop our curriculum, most recently adopting Little Wandle teaching of phonics and early reading to systematically embed reading skills. We base our Key foundation learning on the Primary Knowledge Curriculum and deliver an ambitious reading and writing curriculum across school. We believe that we have a challenging knowledge-based curriculum that inspires learners to excel and become independent learners and our focus on skills progression help children be well-prepared for secondary school.  

Our school shares the Catholic Faith through everything that we do, and we work to show our love for God through our actions and words as we follow the teachings of our Gospel Values.  We are the parish school of Our Lady Immaculate and St Etheldreda in Newmarket and the school is very much part of parish life. Our children make visits to church throughout the year and our Parish Priest, Father Leo together with Deacons James and John are  regular visitors to our school. We gather together often to celebrate our faith and we work with the wider community to live out our Gospel Values to help others. As a Catholic school, these  values help shape how we work with children to help them to become considerate and caring of one another.

Our whole team collaborative focus is directed towards supporting children to  thrive in our care. We believe that developing the speaking and listening skills of our early-learners whilst exploring our world provides the firm foundations to progress.  Children use outdoor space for learning many times during the day and often return home muddy. 

We believe that we should prepare children for all aspects of life and forming good relationships with others is central to this.   If you visit our school, you will find children who are self–confident, respectful towards one another and the many adults who support their learning. We teach and model teamwork and collaboration in all that we do. We aim for school leaders to be thoughtful, generous and independent learners as they transition to secondary school. Our Year 6 Chaplains lead assemblies and prayer across school, acting as role models to us all. 

Our parents are a very important part of our school community and our St Louis PTA are welcoming and constantly contributing to the ongoing improvement of our school. We believe that children learn best when parents and teachers work in partnership and parents are welcome to discuss their children’s learning at any time.

We have a wonderful teacher-led Acorns Nursery for children to attend the year before Reception and many go on to join our school. For working families, we have a wraparound breakfast and after-school club, Treetops, in our nursery building.  

If you would like to find out more about our wonderful school, you will be warmly welcomed. First time visitors are always surprised at the extent of our grounds and our beautiful buildings concealed behind Fordham Road and Rayes Lane.  Please visit us to find out more about how we can support your child to excel. 

Mrs Sue Blakeley
Headteacher