St Catherine's Catholic School

St Catherine's Catholic School is a Catholic secondary school in a single-academy trust, inspected in July 2026. Inspectors found it performing strongly across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing, with safeguarding requirements met. Published outcomes are above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils, and disadvantaged pupils' progress is improving; attendance is well above national averages and persistent absence is below them. Pupils are described as safe, valued and highly motivated, with exemplary behaviour and strong relationships with staff. The school's inclusive ethos, wellbeing hub, broad curriculum and high-quality careers guidance are notable strengths, alongside effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Governance and staff development are also strong. The main development point is not a serious weakness: leaders are asked to continue refining the personal development programme and work experience offer to sustain exceptional standards.

Strengths

• GCSE outcomes are consistently above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment gaps are improving
• Attendance is consistently above national averages and persistent absence is below national averages
• Pupils' behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and well sequenced across academic and vocational pathways
• Teaching is strong, with secure subject knowledge and effective support for pupils with gaps in foundational knowledge
• Inclusion is highly effective, with prompt identification of barriers and tailored support
• The pupil premium strategy is well designed and has positive impact on attendance and achievement
• The wellbeing hub provides highly effective pastoral and mental health support
• Careers guidance is high quality and prepares pupils well for next steps
• Leadership and governance are strong, with high ambition and effective oversight
• Staff benefit from high-quality professional development and supportive workload arrangements
• Pupils have strong opportunities for leadership and community contribution

Areas for Improvement

• The personal development programme and work experience offer could be refined further as a next-step priority

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 Catherine's Catholic School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 13.9% 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, 3.0% of pupils at St Catherine's Catholic School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Catherine's Catholic School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.2% 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, 7.5% of pupils at St Catherine's Catholic School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% 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 2024–25 St Catherine's Catholic School received £7,756 and spent £7,863 for each of its 1,040 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,168,000 (£1,123 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bexley · Bexley local authority: places and applications

What is St Catherine's Catholic School's Ofsted rating?

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

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

St Catherine's Catholic School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Catherine's Catholic School have?

St Catherine's Catholic School has 1,021 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Catherine's Catholic School cover?

St Catherine's Catholic School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Catherine's Catholic School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 55.5, and 66% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Catherine's Catholic School?

St Catherine's Catholic School is at Watling Street, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7QJ.