St James' Catholic High School

General Information

Address: Great Strand, Colindale, London, NW9 5PE
Phone: 02083582800
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Anthony Ellul
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 1243
School capacity: 1400
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 335
% eligible for free school meals: 32.6%
Nursery provision: No

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.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 20.7%
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.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 39 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 36 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 23 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 11 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 15 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 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 –

Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

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Would recommend –

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Educational Attainment

Good 2022 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.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 51.4
Data year: 2024/25

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.

Ranked #19 of 24 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#17Bishop Douglass School Finchley52.5
#18St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School51.6
#19St James' Catholic High School51.4
#20Copthall School47.4
#21Saracens High School47.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1The Henrietta Barnett School87.3
#2Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet85.6
#3St Michael's Catholic Grammar School77.8
#4Hasmonean High School for Girls63.7
#5Finchley Catholic High School62.3
#6Mill Hill County High School61.2
#7JCoSS60.9
#8Ashmole Academy59.9
#9Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School58.6
#10The Totteridge Academy58.2
#11Christ's College Finchley56.8
#12Hasmonean High School for Boys56.5
#13Ark Pioneer Academy56.0
#14The Archer Academy55.9
#15The Compton School54.8
#16East Barnet School53.0
#17Bishop Douglass School Finchley52.5
#18St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School51.6
#19St James' Catholic High School51.4
#20Copthall School47.4
#21Saracens High School47.1
#22Hendon School44.9
#23Clarion44.8
#24Friern Barnet School44.8

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 96.0%
Went into further education: 91.0%
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
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
History
Business Studies
Geography
French Language
Spanish
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Computer Science
Polish
D & T
Speech & Drama
Art & Design
Sports Studies
Chinese
Photography
Music Studies (General)
Portuguese
Russian
Persian Language

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

Ranked #20 of 21 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#18Saracens High SchoolGood
#19St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox SchoolGood
#20St James' Catholic High SchoolGood
#21The Henrietta Barnett 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.

#1Ark Pioneer AcademyOutstanding
#2Queen Elizabeth's School, BarnetOutstanding
#3St Michael's Catholic Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#4The Compton SchoolOutstanding
#5Ashmole AcademyGood
#6Bishop Douglass School FinchleyGood
#7ClarionGood
#8Copthall SchoolGood
#9East Barnet SchoolGood
#10Finchley Catholic High SchoolGood
#11Friern Barnet SchoolGood
#12Hasmonean High School for BoysGood
#13Hasmonean High School for GirlsGood
#14Hendon SchoolGood
#15JCoSSGood
#16Mill Hill County High SchoolGood
#17Queen Elizabeth's Girls' SchoolGood
#18Saracens High SchoolGood
#19St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox SchoolGood
#20St James' Catholic High SchoolGood
#21The Henrietta Barnett SchoolGood

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £8,424 (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.

Ranked #17 of 25 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#15The Compton School£8,876
#16East Barnet School£8,598
#17St James' Catholic High School£8,424
#18Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School£8,385
#19Mill Hill County High School£8,204

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.

#1Hasmonean High School for Boys£12,832
#2Hasmonean High School for Girls£12,806
#3Friern Barnet School£11,457
#4JCoSS£10,960
#5Clarion£10,925
#6St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School£10,444
#7Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet£9,432
#8Hendon School£9,397
#9The Archer Academy£9,316
#10Saracens High School£9,264
#11Copthall School£9,231
#12Ark Pioneer Academy£9,222
#13The Totteridge Academy£9,110
#14Bishop Douglass School Finchley£9,026
#15The Compton School£8,876
#16East Barnet School£8,598
#17St James' Catholic High School£8,424
#18Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School£8,385
#19Mill Hill County High School£8,204
#20Christ's College Finchley£8,066
#21The Henrietta Barnett School£8,000
#22St Michael's Catholic Grammar School£7,875
#23Finchley Catholic High School£7,839
#24Ashmole Academy£7,631
#25Woodhouse College£6,903

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

General Information

Behaviour

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