Derby Cathedral School

Derby · DE1 1LR

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1159 pupils, 56.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 13.5% on SEN support Behaviour 6.2% absence rate Staff 9.9% turnover Financials £7,798 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Derby Cathedral School

General Information

Address: Great Northern Road, Derby, DE1 1LR – View on map
Phone: 01332325710
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Andy Brown
Age range: 11-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 158 families put it first for 176 places – 9 for every 10 places. 89% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1159 pupils out of 1260 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 502
% eligible for free school meals: 56.6%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Derby average)
English as an additional language: 31% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.9% a year (Derby 14.1%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Derby: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 32 (1.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 22 (1.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 8 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Derby, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 16.2%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 13.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 36 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 31 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 30 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 19 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 13 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 10 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Vision impairment: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 41.5
Compared with the area: 2.3 points below the Derby average (43.8)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.4 points against an expected 41.1)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 57% (Derby 61%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolDerby averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 2.3 points below the Derby average (43.8).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

9th of 16 secondary schools in Derby for Attainment 8

#7Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy45.3
#8UTC Derby Pride Park42.0
#9Derby Cathedral School41.5
#10Lees Brook Academy41.5
#11Murray Park Community School40.6

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Landau Forte College55.4
#2Littleover Community School52.7
#3Chellaston Academy49.2
#4West Park School48.7
#5Derby Moor Spencer Academy47.7
#6Allestree Woodlands School46.5
#7Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy45.3
#8UTC Derby Pride Park42.0
#9Derby Cathedral School41.5
#10Lees Brook Academy41.5
#11Murray Park Community School40.6
#12Noel-Baker Academy36.3
#13City of Derby Academy34.8
#14Da Vinci Academy34.7
#15The Bemrose School33.8
#16Alvaston Moor Academy32.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 83.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
History
Science Double Award
Spanish
Geography
Biology
Business Studies
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Food Technology
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Sports Studies
Religious Studies
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
Polish
Arabic
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

4th of 15 secondary schools in Derby for Ofsted rating

#2Allestree Woodlands SchoolGood
#3Chellaston AcademyGood
#4Derby Cathedral SchoolGood
#5Derby Moor Spencer AcademyGood
#6Lees Brook AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Landau Forte CollegeOutstanding
#2Allestree Woodlands SchoolGood
#3Chellaston AcademyGood
#4Derby Cathedral SchoolGood
#5Derby Moor Spencer AcademyGood
#6Lees Brook AcademyGood
#7Littleover Community SchoolGood
#8Murray Park Community SchoolGood
#9Noel-Baker AcademyGood
#10Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary AcademyGood
#11The Bemrose SchoolGood
#12UTC Derby Pride ParkGood
#13West Park SchoolGood
#14Alvaston Moor AcademyRequires improvement
#15City of Derby AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,798 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

7th of 16 secondary schools in Derby for spending per pupil

#5Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy£8,133
#6Allestree Woodlands School£7,899
#7Derby Cathedral School£7,798
#8UTC Derby Pride Park£7,793
#9Murray Park Community School£7,750

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Da Vinci Academy£9,041
#2The Bemrose School£8,734
#3City of Derby Academy£8,542
#4Noel-Baker Academy£8,318
#5Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy£8,133
#6Allestree Woodlands School£7,899
#7Derby Cathedral School£7,798
#8UTC Derby Pride Park£7,793
#9Murray Park Community School£7,750
#10Landau Forte College£7,338
#11West Park School£7,192
#12Alvaston Moor Academy£7,187
#13Derby Moor Spencer Academy£6,998
#14Lees Brook Academy£6,916
#15Littleover Community School£6,877
#16Chellaston Academy£6,490

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Derby: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered