St Mary's Catholic High School

General Information

Address: Manchester Road, Astley, Manchester, M29 7EE
Phone: 01942884144
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Denise Brahms
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 1537
School capacity: 1569
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 264
% eligible for free school meals: 20.3%
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: 8.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.4%
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: 12.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 69 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 44 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 30 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 16 pupils
Hearing impairment: 15 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 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

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

Give this school your first review

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

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

Attainment 8 score: 44.2
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 #11 of 19 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#9Bedford High School45.5
#10Cansfield High School44.4
#11St Mary's Catholic High School44.2
#12St John Fisher Catholic High School41.3
#13The Byrchall High School41.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1St Peter's Catholic High School51.1
#2Golborne High School50.1
#3Standish Community High School49.7
#4St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield49.1
#5Shevington High School49.0
#6Lowton Church of England High School47.5
#7Fred Longworth High School45.9
#8The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College45.7
#9Bedford High School45.5
#10Cansfield High School44.4
#11St Mary's Catholic High School44.2
#12St John Fisher Catholic High School41.3
#13The Byrchall High School41.3
#14Hawkley Hall High School40.4
#15Outwood Academy Hindley40.0
#16Dean Trust Rose Bridge39.7
#17Atherton High School39.3
#18The Westleigh School36.4
#19Dean Trust Wigan33.1

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 91.0%
Went into further education: 85.0%
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

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

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

Financials

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

Spending per pupil: £7,474 (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 #12 of 19 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#10Outwood Academy Hindley£7,664
#11The Byrchall High School£7,624
#12St Mary's Catholic High School£7,474
#13Fred Longworth High School£7,462
#14Shevington High School£7,374

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.

#1Dean Trust Wigan£8,808
#2Dean Trust Rose Bridge£8,471
#3The Westleigh School£8,341
#4Atherton High School£8,254
#5St John Fisher Catholic High School£8,039
#6Bedford High School£8,006
#7Cansfield High School£7,932
#8The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College£7,815
#9Lowton Church of England High School£7,756
#10Outwood Academy Hindley£7,664
#11The Byrchall High School£7,624
#12St Mary's Catholic High School£7,474
#13Fred Longworth High School£7,462
#14Shevington High School£7,374
#15Golborne High School£7,331
#16St Peter's Catholic High School£6,887
#17St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield£6,886
#18Hawkley Hall High School£6,679
#19Standish Community High School£6,536

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 ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered