St Cecilia's RC High School

St Cecilia’s RC High School is a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Longridge, Lancashire, inspected in January 2025. It remains a good school overall, with quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all judged good; personal development is outstanding. Pupils are described as polite, kind and considerate, and they contribute to a calm, respectful atmosphere. Pupils with SEND are fully included and achieve well, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has an ambitious curriculum and provides a broad range of clubs, trips and community activities that help pupils become confident and independent. Governors understand the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge. Reading support is precise, behaviour support for a small number of pupils is effective, and persistent absence has been reduced. Personal development is exceptionally strong and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. The main areas for improvement are in the quality of education. Sometimes staff design activities that do not help pupils build sufficient depth of knowledge, and staff do not always address gaps or misconceptions promptly enough, so some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic’s impact into account.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, kind and considerate and enjoy positive relationships with staff.
• Pupils contribute strongly to a calm and respectful school atmosphere.
• Pupils respond well to high expectations for achievement and conduct.
• Pupils with SEND are fully included in school life and achieve well.
• The school offers a broad range of clubs, trips and activities that develop pupils’ talents and interests.
• Pupils make a positive contribution to their community through charity and food bank support.
• Governors have a detailed understanding of school performance and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Governors carry out their statutory duties effectively.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully considers important knowledge pupils should learn.
• Staff appreciate the time given to develop subject curriculums, which has supported workload.
• Most pupils are well prepared for further education, apprenticeships or employment with training.
• Staff typically use subject knowledge well to help pupils develop secure knowledge over time.
• The school accurately identifies additional needs and gives staff clear guidance to support pupils with SEND.
• Reading needs are identified with precision, including support to close phonics gaps.
• Books used in school make a significant contribution to pupils’ understanding of the world.
• Well-considered behaviour support helps a small number of pupils who need it.
• The school has successfully addressed barriers to attendance and reduced persistent absence.
• Personal development provision is outstanding and prepares pupils exceptionally well for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy and safe, including online.
• Careers education helps pupils make informed decisions about their futures.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• At times, staff design activities that do not help pupils develop sufficient depth of knowledge in their subjects.
• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could because learning activities do not prepare them well enough for each stage of education.
• Staff do not always address gaps and misconceptions promptly, so some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready.

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 St Cecilia's RC High School attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.1% 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, 8.9% of pupils at St Cecilia's RC 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 St Cecilia's RC High School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.5% 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, 5.7% of pupils at St Cecilia's RC High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.0% 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 St Cecilia's RC High School received £8,541 and spent £8,498 for each of its 581 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £512,000 (£881 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is St Cecilia's RC High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Cecilia's RC High School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St Cecilia's RC High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Cecilia's RC High School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Cecilia's RC High School have?

St Cecilia's RC High School has 581 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Cecilia's RC High School cover?

St Cecilia's RC High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Cecilia's RC High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.0, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Cecilia's RC High School?

St Cecilia's RC High School is at Chapel Hill, Longridge, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 2XA.