Harrytown Catholic High School

Harrytown Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic secondary comprehensive in Stockport with 803 pupils aged 11 to 16. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it followed the recent appointment of a new headteacher in September 2024. Inspectors found a friendly, safe school where most pupils value positive relationships with staff and peers, and where personal development is a clear strength. Pupils benefit from a wide enrichment programme, charitable work, trips, clubs and positions of responsibility, and they receive comprehensive PSHE and careers guidance. Safeguarding is effective, most pupils attend well, and governors and leaders are taking action to improve the school. However, the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes require improvement, as does leadership and management. The school has raised expectations and begun to broaden and strengthen the curriculum, but this work is uneven across subjects. In some subjects, essential knowledge is not clearly identified, and staff do not consistently check that pupils have understood content before moving on, so gaps and misconceptions are not addressed quickly enough. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and external support is used, but weaknesses in curriculum design and delivery still limit how well some of them achieve. Reading support is effective in key stage 3 but not sufficiently developed for pupils in Years 10 and 11. Behaviour has improved since the school renewed its systems, including calming spaces and behaviour correction areas, but some staff do not apply the policy consistently. A small number of pupils disrupt the learning of others, and some staff do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement. Recent leadership changes have accelerated improvement, and most staff value the support they receive for workload and well-being, but the school still has important work to do to ensure consistent behaviour management, a fully developed curriculum and strong checking of pupils’ learning.

Strengths

• Most pupils enjoy positive relationships with peers and staff and value the school’s friendly, safe atmosphere.
• The HarrytownExtra enrichment programme offers clubs, charitable work and activities that help pupils become resilient and well-rounded.
• Personal development is good, with a refreshed and age-appropriate PSHE curriculum covering safety, careers and the wider world.
• Pupils benefit from trips, careers guidance and positions of responsibility such as peace council members and sport ambassadors.
• The school identifies pupils with SEND quickly and liaises with external specialists to secure support.
• Many staff have strong subject knowledge and design activities that engage pupils in their learning.
• Recent behaviour improvements include calming spaces and behaviour correction areas that help meet pupils’ behavioural and emotional needs.
• Pupils in key stage 3 who struggle with reading receive support to develop fluency and confidence.
• Most pupils’ attendance rates are high, and the school supports pupils and families to promote regular attendance.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Governors routinely review policies and practices, and recent leadership changes have accelerated improvement.
• Most staff value the support they receive to manage workload and well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not fully developed in some subjects, and essential knowledge pupils should learn has not been clearly identified.
• Staff do not consistently check that pupils have understood subject content before moving on, so gaps and misconceptions are not addressed quickly enough.
• Support for older pupils who struggle with reading is not sufficiently developed in Years 10 and 11.
• Some staff do not apply the new behaviour management policy consistently, allowing a small number of pupils to disrupt learning.
• Some staff do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ behaviour and academic achievement.
• Limitations in curriculum design and delivery hinder some pupils with SEND from achieving as well as they should.
• Pupils’ achievement varies across the curriculum, and some pupils do not gain the knowledge they need to achieve well.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Harrytown Catholic High School attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 12.5% of pupils at Harrytown Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Harrytown Catholic High School had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.8% of pupils at Harrytown Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Harrytown Catholic High School received £8,529 and spent £8,730 for each of its 793 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £444,000 (£560 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stockport · Stockport local authority: places and applications

What is Harrytown Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harrytown Catholic High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Harrytown Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harrytown Catholic High School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Harrytown Catholic High School have?

Harrytown Catholic High School has 792 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harrytown Catholic High School cover?

Harrytown Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Harrytown Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.2, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Harrytown Catholic High School?

Harrytown Catholic High School is at Harrytown, Romiley, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 3BU.