St Mary's Catholic High School

St Mary's Catholic High School is performing effectively, successfully maintaining the standards identified in its previous inspections. The school prides itself on being an inclusive community where pupils feel safe and valued. With a broad and ambitious curriculum that prepares students well for their future, the school has seen a significant increase in enrollment and a respective expansion of its course offerings. While most subjects demonstrate effective teaching practices, there are areas where improvement is needed to ensure that all pupils receive a consistently high quality of education.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils foster a positive learning environment.
• Pupils feel safe and are well supported in their emotional well-being.
• The school's curriculum is broad and ambitious, catering to various academic and vocational aspirations.
• Effective strategies are in place to help pupils who struggle with reading.
• A robust careers program prepares students for future employment.
• Pupils participate in a wide range of enrichment activities, enhancing their skills and confidence.

Areas for Improvement

• In a minority of subjects, teaching strategies do not effectively support all pupils' understanding, leading to knowledge gaps.

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 Mary's Catholic High School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.9% 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, 7.5% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Mary's Catholic High School had 15.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.3% 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, 22.1% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 Mary's Catholic High School received £7,868 and spent £7,972 for each of its 813 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £437,000 (£537 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 Leyland · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is St Mary's Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic High School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Mary's Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Catholic High School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic High School have?

St Mary's Catholic High School has 813 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Catholic High School cover?

St Mary's Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Mary's Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.8, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Mary's Catholic High School?

St Mary's Catholic High School is at Royal Avenue, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 1BS.