Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College is an improving Catholic secondary school that no longer requires special measures following its previous inadequate judgement. Pupils are increasingly proud of the school, behaviour has improved and is typically sensible in lessons and around the site, and supportive staff relationships help most pupils feel safe and happy. The school also prioritises reading, offers a detailed personal development programme and provides a growing range of clubs and community opportunities. However, provision is not yet consistently good. The revised curriculum is not securely embedded in all subjects and year groups, and teaching strategies and resources sometimes do not help pupils learn key knowledge well. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly, but classroom support is uneven, so some do not access learning as well as they should. Some pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, remain persistently absent, and a minority of parents feel communication about changes could be better. Leadership is well supported by an interim executive board that knows the school and challenges it appropriately, and staff value the support for their wellbeing. Safeguarding is effective. The main priorities are to embed the curriculum consistently, strengthen SEND adaptation, improve attendance, and communicate the school's vision and values more clearly to parents.

Strengths

• Pupils are increasingly proud of their school and recognise the improvements made.
• Behaviour has improved, with high expectations and typically sensible conduct in lessons and around school.
• Staff build supportive relationships so most pupils feel safe and happy.
• Reading is prioritised, with effective support for struggling readers and a well-resourced library.
• Personal development is detailed, covering healthy relationships, British values, consent and careers.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• The interim executive board knows the school well and provides strong challenge and support.
• Staff, including early career teachers, feel well supported by leaders.
• Most pupils attend regularly and whole-school attendance strategies are increasingly effective.
• Pupils can access clubs and activities such as sports, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, reading buddies and the school council.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum changes are not securely embedded across all subjects and year groups.
• Teaching strategies and resource choices are inconsistent and sometimes do not help pupils learn key knowledge.
• Support for pupils with SEND is uneven in the classroom, limiting access to learning for some.
• Some pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, remain persistently absent.
• A minority of parents are unhappy with communication about changes, particularly staffing and behaviour.
• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they should because provision is not yet consistently good.

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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School attended 89.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.4% 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, 18.5% of pupils at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School had 14.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 17.8% of pupils at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.8% 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 Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School received £9,500 and spent £9,475 for each of its 789 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £634,000 (£804 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 Skelmersdale · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School have?

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School has 786 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School cover?

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.5, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School?

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School is at Glenburn Road, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6JW.