St Peter's RC High School

St Peter's RC High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school in a highly deprived area of Greater Manchester, serving around 1,035 pupils, with a free school meals rate well above average and a specially resourced SEND provision for specific learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorder. This full inspection found the school performing at an exceptional level in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils’ attendance is consistently above national averages and rising, with behaviour described as exemplary and incidents of bullying or discrimination extremely rare. The school is rated strong standard for achievement and curriculum and teaching. Pupils often join with starting points below national averages, but they achieve well, with disadvantaged pupils attaining above national figures for this group and matching their peers in school. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use effective assessment and support, including for pupils with SEND. Leaders, governors and staff share a deeply embedded mission of mutual love and care, and the wider personal development offer is extensive and well matched to pupils’ contexts. The main area for further development is oracy. While pupils typically develop vocabulary, reading and oracy well, leaders are rightly ambitious to sharpen the responsive strategies used by staff so that pupils achieve exceptionally well in all subjects. Overall, this is a highly inclusive and aspirational school that transforms pupils’ life chances and is well placed to build on its many strengths.

Strengths

• Pupils’ attendance is exceptionally high, consistently above national averages and rising across all groups.
• Behaviour and conduct are exceptional, with pupils showing self-discipline, courtesy and respect.
• Bullying and other poor behaviour are extremely rare and are dealt with promptly and effectively.
• Inclusion is exceptional, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND in the resourced provision.
• Leaders use sophisticated systems to identify pupil needs and provide highly effective support.
• The pupil premium strategy is highly effective, helping disadvantaged pupils overcome barriers.
• Leadership and governance are exceptional, with a deeply embedded mission of mutual love and care.
• Governors provide highly focused support and challenge and collaborate closely with leaders and families.
• Staff development, workload and wellbeing are well supported by leaders.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is expertly designed and tailored to pupils’ contexts.
• Pupils are extremely well prepared for life in modern Britain and demonstrate maturity and respect for diversity.
• The school offers an extensive range of sporting, academic, creative and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils achieve well from often lower starting points, with disadvantaged pupils attaining above national averages.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use clear explanations, modelling and well-timed assessment.
• Pupils with SEND and other barriers typically learn confidently alongside their peers.
• Destinations after 16 are consistently in line with or above national averages.

Areas for Improvement

• Oracy skills are not yet developed consistently enough across subjects to ensure pupils achieve exceptionally well in all areas of the curriculum.

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 Peter's RC High School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.7% 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, 9.5% of pupils at St Peter's RC High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Peter's RC High School had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 13.3% of pupils at St Peter's RC High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 11 pupils.

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 Peter's RC High School received £9,990 and spent £10,198 for each of its 1,016 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £384,000 (£378 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

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Peter's RC High School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

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

St Peter's RC High School was last inspected in September 2026.

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

St Peter's RC High School has 1,013 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.7, and 50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Peter's RC High School?

St Peter's RC High School is at Kirkmanshulme Lane, Greater Manchester, M12 4WB.