Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School has been confirmed as a good school in its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils express pride in their school and feel valued, safe, and happy. The school fosters a strong sense of community and inclusiveness, with leaders keenly focused on preparing students for life beyond the classroom. The curriculum has been adjusted to cater to diverse needs, supporting a broad educational experience, especially for disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and valued in a caring environment.
• Strong leadership and a commitment to preparing pupils for future opportunities.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum tailored to the interests and needs of all pupils.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND to access the curriculum.
• Wide range of extracurricular activities that engage pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teachers lack skills in selecting suitable activities, leading to gaps in knowledge.

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 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School attended 89.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.6% 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, 8.0% of pupils at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 17.4% of pupils at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% 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 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School received £8,495 and spent £8,544 for each of its 1,340 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £510,000 (£381 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 Widnes · Halton local authority: places and applications

What is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School have?

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School has 1,337 pupils on roll.

What age range does Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School cover?

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.9, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School?

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is at Highfield Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 7DW.