St Mary's Catholic High School

South Ribble · PR25 1BS

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 813 pupils, 21.2% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 22.1% on SEN support Behaviour 7.2% absence rate Staff 13.4% turnover Financials £7,504 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Mary's Catholic High School

General Information

Address: Royal Avenue, Leyland, PR25 1BS – View on map
Phone: 01772421909
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Phil Thompson
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 199 families put it first for 160 places – 12 for every 10 places. 77% 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 13 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

813 pupils out of 830 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 172
% eligible for free school meals: 21.2%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the South Ribble average)
English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.4% a year (South Ribble 12.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 41% moved to another school, 59% 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 Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 88 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 8
Suspensions for bullying: 163 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 76 (1.0 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 Lancashire (the council area this school is in), 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: 7.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.9%
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: 22.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 52 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 37 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 29 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 16 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 14 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Physical disability: 2 pupils
Hearing 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 2016 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: 45.0
Compared with the area: 2.0 points below the South Ribble average (47.0)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−1.0 points against an expected 46.0)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 66% (South Ribble 68%, 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 schoolSouth Ribble averageEngland↗ Improving Up 2.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 2.0 points below the South Ribble average (47.0).

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.

7th of 11 secondary schools in South Ribble for Attainment 8

#5Lostock Hall Academy47.6
#6Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School46.1
#7St Mary's Catholic High School45.0
#8Academy@Worden43.2
#9Penwortham Priory Academy43.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1All Hallows Catholic High School55.6
#2Penwortham Girls' High School52.9
#3Balshaw's Church of England High School52.3
#4Hutton Church of England Grammar School50.1
#5Lostock Hall Academy47.6
#6Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School46.1
#7St Mary's Catholic High School45.0
#8Academy@Worden43.2
#9Penwortham Priory Academy43.2
#10Wellfield Academy37.7
#11Walton-Le-Dale High School33.1

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 89.0%
Went into further education: 73.0%
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)
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
History
Art & Design
Spanish
D & T
Geography
Food Technology
Photography
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Sports Studies
Speech & Drama
French Language
Polish

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

8th of 10 secondary schools in South Ribble for Ofsted rating

#6Lostock Hall AcademyGood
#7Penwortham Priory AcademyGood
#8St Mary's Catholic High SchoolGood
#9Walton-Le-Dale High SchoolRequires improvement
#10Wellfield AcademyRequires improvement

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

#1All Hallows Catholic High SchoolOutstanding
#2Penwortham Girls' High SchoolOutstanding
#3Academy@WordenGood
#4Balshaw's Church of England High SchoolGood
#5Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High SchoolGood
#6Lostock Hall AcademyGood
#7Penwortham Priory AcademyGood
#8St Mary's Catholic High SchoolGood
#9Walton-Le-Dale High SchoolRequires improvement
#10Wellfield AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,504 (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 11 secondary schools in South Ribble for spending per pupil

#5Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School£7,640
#6Penwortham Girls' High School£7,622
#7St Mary's Catholic High School£7,504
#8Lostock Hall Academy£7,212
#9Wellfield Academy£7,187

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

#1Penwortham Priory Academy£8,311
#2Walton-Le-Dale High School£8,276
#3Hutton Church of England Grammar School£7,933
#4Academy@Worden£7,930
#5Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School£7,640
#6Penwortham Girls' High School£7,622
#7St Mary's Catholic High School£7,504
#8Lostock Hall Academy£7,212
#9Wellfield Academy£7,187
#10All Hallows Catholic High School£7,061
#11Balshaw's Church of England High School£7,041

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 Lancashire: 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