St James' Catholic High School

Barnet · NW9 5PE

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1243 pupils, 32.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 10.5% on SEN support Behaviour 7.6% absence rate Staff 30.7% turnover Financials £8,424 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St James' Catholic High School

General Information

Address: Great Strand, Colindale, London, NW9 5PE – View on map
Phone: 02083582800
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Anthony Ellul
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 135 families put it first for 210 places – 6 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 42 of the 210 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 6 · 2024 7 · 2025 5 · 2026 6
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1243 pupils out of 1400 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 335
% eligible for free school meals: 32.6%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Barnet average)
English as an additional language: 64% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 30.7% a year (Barnet 19.8%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 37% moved to another school, 63% 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.

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 Barnet: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 80 (2.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 94 (3.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 25 (0.8 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 Barnet, 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: 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.

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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

–

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 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.

Attainment 8 score: 51.4
Compared with the area: 6.2 points below the Barnet average (57.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−2.3 points against an expected 53.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 75% (Barnet 80%, 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 schoolBarnet 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 6.2 points below the Barnet average (57.6).

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.

21st of 26 secondary schools in Barnet for Attainment 8

#19London Academy51.7
#20St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School51.6
#21St James' Catholic High School51.4
#22Copthall School47.4
#23Saracens High School47.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#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
#9Wren Academy Finchley59.8
#10Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School58.6
#11The Totteridge Academy58.2
#12Christ's College Finchley56.8
#13Hasmonean High School for Boys56.5
#14Ark Pioneer Academy56.0
#15The Archer Academy55.9
#16The Compton School54.8
#17East Barnet School53.0
#18Bishop Douglass School Finchley52.5
#19London Academy51.7
#20St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School51.6
#21St James' Catholic High School51.4
#22Copthall School47.4
#23Saracens High School47.1
#24Hendon School44.9
#25Clarion44.8
#26Friern 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

20th of 22 secondary schools in Barnet for Ofsted rating

#18Saracens High SchoolGood
#19St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox SchoolGood
#20St James' Catholic High SchoolGood
#21St Mary's and St John's CofE SchoolGood
#22The 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.

Rank School Score

#1Ark Pioneer AcademyOutstanding
#2Queen Elizabeth's School, BarnetOutstanding
#3St Michael's Catholic Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#4The Archer AcademyOutstanding
#5The Compton SchoolOutstanding
#6Wren Academy FinchleyOutstanding
#7Bishop Douglass School FinchleyGood
#8Christ's College FinchleyGood
#9ClarionGood
#10Copthall SchoolGood
#11Finchley Catholic High SchoolGood
#12Friern Barnet SchoolGood
#13Hasmonean High School for BoysGood
#14Hasmonean High School for GirlsGood
#15Hendon SchoolGood
#16JCoSSGood
#17London AcademyGood
#18Saracens High SchoolGood
#19St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox SchoolGood
#20St James' Catholic High SchoolGood
#21St Mary's and St John's CofE SchoolGood
#22The Henrietta Barnett SchoolGood

Financials

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.

17th of 26 secondary schools in Barnet for spending per pupil

#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.

Rank School Score

#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
#21London Academy£8,022
#22The Henrietta Barnett School£8,000
#23St Michael's Catholic Grammar School£7,875
#24Finchley Catholic High School£7,839
#25Ashmole Academy£7,631
#26Wren Academy Finchley£7,411

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 Barnet: 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