Our Lady's Catholic College

Our Lady's Catholic College is currently rated as requiring improvement in overall effectiveness, indicating that there are essential areas that need addressing to enhance the quality of education. While there have been considerable improvements in the school's atmosphere and community feel, challenges remain for pupils in key stages 3 and 4, particularly regarding the new curriculum's effectiveness. Moreover, pupils' engagement with reading for pleasure is highlighted as an area needing improvement, despite a generally positive environment for learning and growth.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a calm and purposeful atmosphere at school.
• There have been considerable improvements in the school over recent years.
• The school offers a wide range of experiences to develop understanding of equality and diversity.
• Pupils in the sixth form achieve well and progress to ambitious destinations.
• Teachers are well trained to deliver the revised curriculum.
• There are effective strategies to identify pupils with additional needs, including SEND.
• Strong careers guidance and education are provided to pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils in key stages 3 and 4 do not achieve as well as they should.
• Learning activities sometimes do not support pupils in retaining information.
• Key stage 4 pupils do not benefit sufficiently from the new curriculum.
• Strategies to foster a love of reading are not as effective as they could be.

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's Catholic College attended 88.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.9% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Our Lady's Catholic College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 24 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's Catholic College had 14.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.0% 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, 20.8% of pupils at Our Lady's Catholic College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% 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's Catholic College received £8,949 and spent £8,924 for each of its 983 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £74,000 (£75 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 Lancaster · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Our Lady's Catholic College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Our Lady's Catholic College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Our Lady's Catholic College last inspected by Ofsted?

Our Lady's Catholic College was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Our Lady's Catholic College have?

Our Lady's Catholic College has 981 pupils on roll.

What age range does Our Lady's Catholic College cover?

Our Lady's Catholic College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Our Lady's Catholic College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.1, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Our Lady's Catholic College?

Our Lady's Catholic College is at Morecambe Road, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 2RX.