Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School is a smaller-than-average Catholic secondary school in Fleetwood. Inspectors found the school is generally performing at the expected standard: safeguarding standards are met, and attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are all secure. Leaders have improved attendance and behaviour over time, with a calm and respectful culture, fewer suspensions and exclusions, and effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. The school is inclusive, well led, and staff feel well supported. Two areas require attention. Achievement is not consistently secure across the curriculum or for all groups: teaching and curriculum improvements are embedded to different degrees in different subjects, higher-attaining pupils do not achieve as well as they should, and national examination attainment remains below national averages for most pupils. Personal development also requires attention because pupils do not yet develop sufficient depth of understanding about fundamental British values and protected characteristics, despite a broad extra-curricular offer and suitable careers education. Next steps focus on making teaching more consistent across subjects, ensuring curriculum improvements translate into better achievement, and deepening pupils' understanding of fundamental British values and protected characteristics.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Attendance has improved sustainably through effective data tracking and bespoke support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Behaviour has improved, with fewer suspensions and exclusions and a calm, respectful learning culture.
• Pupils feel safe, have trusted adults, and bullying or discriminatory language is dealt with swiftly.
• The curriculum is well structured and sequenced, and staff have secure subject knowledge.
• Teachers use effective teaching styles and make suitable adaptations for pupils with SEND.
• Focused literacy and numeracy interventions are helping pupils close gaps and access the full curriculum.
• Inclusion is a strength: disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are identified and supported effectively.
• Leadership is strong, with clear priorities, supportive governance, positive staff views and good professional development.
• Personal development includes a wide extra-curricular offer, international visits, leadership roles and careers education from Year 7.
• Pupils generally move on to suitable next steps, and destinations are largely in line with national averages.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement requires attention because improvements are not consistently embedded across the curriculum and for all groups.
• Pupils with higher starting points do not achieve as well in the classroom or in national assessments and examinations.
• Attainment in national examinations remains below national averages for most pupils.
• Teaching quality is inconsistent across subjects, with new approaches adopted at different rates.
• Some pupils do not always show pride in their work, and gaps in knowledge remain.
• Personal development requires attention because pupils lack depth of understanding of fundamental British values and protected characteristics.
• Curriculum improvements are not yet leading to consistently positive achievement trends.

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 Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.0% 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, 5.0% of pupils at Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.7% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood received £8,736 and spent £9,018 for each of its 771 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £490,000 (£636 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 Fleetwood · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood last inspected by Ofsted?

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood have?

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood has 769 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood cover?

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.0, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood?

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood is at Melbourne Avenue, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 8AY.