St Damian's RC Science College

Tameside · OL6 8BH

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 829 pupils, 25.9% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 9.3% on SEN support Behaviour 5.2% absence rate Staff 9.8% turnover Financials £7,907 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Damian's RC Science College

General Information

Address: Lees Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 8BH – View on map
Phone: 01613305974
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Russ Conway
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 192 families put it first for 159 places – 12 for every 10 places. 77% of them were offered a place. 48 of the 159 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 15 · 2024 14 · 2025 13 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

829 pupils out of 825 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 215
% eligible for free school meals: 25.9%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Tameside average)
English as an additional language: 21% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.8% a year (Tameside 14.8%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 35% moved to another school, 65% 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 Tameside: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 19 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 45 (3.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 27 (1.8 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 Tameside, 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: 5.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.9%
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: 9.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 17 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 16 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Physical disability: 3 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

Outstanding 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: 55.1
Compared with the area: 10.3 points above the Tameside average (44.8)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+6.3 points against an expected 48.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 86% (Tameside 64%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolTameside 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 10.3 points above the Tameside average (44.8).

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.

1st of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8

#1St Damian's RC Science College55.1
#2Fairfield High School for Girls52.7
#3Laurus Ryecroft51.6

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Damian's RC Science College55.1
#2Fairfield High School for Girls52.7
#3Laurus Ryecroft51.6
#4Droylsden Academy47.7
#5Alder Community High School46.6
#6Audenshaw School45.5
#7St Thomas More RC College44.0
#8West Hill School43.5
#9Longdendale High School41.1
#10Dixons Ashton Academy38.1
#11All Saints Catholic College37.5
#12Dixons Pennine Academy35.8
#13Rayner Stephens High School35.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 95.0%
Went into further education: 90.0%
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 Language
Religious Studies
English Literature
Science Double Award
History
Spanish
Geography
French Language
Food Technology
Computer Science
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Art & Design
Polish
Music Studies (General)
Speech & Drama
Russian
Italian

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

2nd of 12 secondary schools in Tameside for Ofsted rating

#1Laurus RyecroftOutstanding
#2St Damian's RC Science CollegeOutstanding
#3All Saints Catholic CollegeGood
#4Audenshaw SchoolGood

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

#1Laurus RyecroftOutstanding
#2St Damian's RC Science CollegeOutstanding
#3All Saints Catholic CollegeGood
#4Audenshaw SchoolGood
#5Dixons Pennine AcademyGood
#6Droylsden AcademyGood
#7Fairfield High School for GirlsGood
#8Mossley Hollins High SchoolGood
#9St Thomas More RC CollegeGood
#10Alder Community High SchoolRequires improvement
#11Hyde High SchoolRequires improvement
#12Denton Community AcademyInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,907 (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.

9th of 16 secondary schools in Tameside for spending per pupil

#7Longdendale High School£8,194
#8St Thomas More RC College£7,921
#9St Damian's RC Science College£7,907
#10Laurus Ryecroft£7,766
#11Audenshaw School£7,737

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

#1Dixons Pennine Academy£9,015
#2Rayner Stephens High School£9,008
#3Droylsden Academy£8,846
#4Alder Community High School£8,812
#5All Saints Catholic College£8,629
#6Dixons Ashton Academy£8,376
#7Longdendale High School£8,194
#8St Thomas More RC College£7,921
#9St Damian's RC Science College£7,907
#10Laurus Ryecroft£7,766
#11Audenshaw School£7,737
#12West Hill School£7,674
#13Fairfield High School for Girls£7,363
#14Denton Community Academy£4,950
#15Hyde High School£3,404
#16Mossley Hollins High School£1,771

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 Tameside: 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