The Catholic High School, Chester

Cheshire West and Chester · CH4 7HS

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 797 pupils, 23% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 19.8% on SEN support Behaviour 9.1% absence rate Staff 5.6% turnover Financials £12,580 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Catholic High School, Chester

General Information

Address: Old Wrexham Road, Handbridge, Chester, CH4 7HS – View on map
Phone: 01244952788
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs CATHRYN MCKEAGNEY
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 70 families put it first for 72 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

797 pupils out of 1117 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 151
% eligible for free school meals: 23.0%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Cheshire West and Chester average)
English as an additional language: 17% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 5.6% a year (Cheshire West and Chester 13.4%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% 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 Cheshire West and Chester: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 20 (0.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 52 (2.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 9 (0.4 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 Cheshire West and Chester, 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: 9.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.9%
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

Resourced provision for Autism 15 places · 15 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 19.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Other difficulty or disability: 91 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 38 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 25 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 27 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

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

Ofsted report card May 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Sixth form (post-16) Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Attainment 8 score: 46.7
Compared with the area: in line with the Cheshire West and Chester average (46.0)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−1.7 points against an expected 48.4)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 64% (Cheshire West and Chester 65%, 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 schoolCheshire West and Chester averageEngland↗ Improving Up 3.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Cheshire West and Chester average (46.0).

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.

11th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8

#9Upton-by-Chester High School48.8
#10Helsby High School47.1
#11The Catholic High School, Chester46.7
#12Queen's Park High School44.2
#13Neston High School43.4

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College55.1
#2Christleton High School54.8
#3Bishop Heber High School53.8
#4The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School53.8
#5The County High School, Leftwich51.9
#6St Nicholas Catholic High School50.8
#7Weaverham High School50.6
#8Hartford Church of England High School50.3
#9Upton-by-Chester High School48.8
#10Helsby High School47.1
#11The Catholic High School, Chester46.7
#12Queen's Park High School44.2
#13Neston High School43.4
#14Ellesmere Port Church of England College39.0
#15The Whitby High School38.9
#16Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy36.9
#17The Rudheath Senior Academy35.7
#18Chester International School34.5
#19Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College33.2
#20The Winsford Academy30.6

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 82.0%
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

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
History
Geography
Art & Design
Business Studies
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Computer Science
D & T
Food Technology
Speech & Drama
Polish
French Language
Spanish
Portuguese
Italian
Chinese

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

Spending per pupil: £12,580 (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.

1st of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for spending per pupil

#1The Catholic High School, Chester£12,580
#2Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College£10,195
#3The Winsford Academy£9,339

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

#1The Catholic High School, Chester£12,580
#2Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College£10,195
#3The Winsford Academy£9,339
#4Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy£8,534
#5The Whitby High School£8,241
#6Ellesmere Port Church of England College£8,122
#7Chester International School£7,865
#8St Nicholas Catholic High School£7,820
#9Helsby High School£7,815
#10Neston High School£7,623
#11The Rudheath Senior Academy£7,558
#12Hartford Church of England High School£7,394
#13The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School£7,394
#14Upton-by-Chester High School£7,337
#15Bishop Heber High School£7,065
#16The County High School, Leftwich£7,024
#17Weaverham High School£6,985
#18Christleton High School£6,619
#19Queen's Park High School£6,574
#20Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College£6,421

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 Cheshire West and Chester: 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 ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered