St Columba's Catholic Boys' School

St Columba’s Catholic Boys’ School continues to uphold the standards established in its last inspection and maintains a positive learning environment for its students. The school fosters a strong sense of community and inclusivity, encouraging pupils to aim high and prepare for future success. With an ambitious curriculum and effective support for students with special educational needs and disabilities, pupils are generally achieving well and are engaged in their education.

Strengths

• Pupils are eager to attend and exhibit positive attitudes towards education.
• The school has a caring and inclusive environment that celebrates diversity.
• High expectations for learning and behavior are evident, leading to good-quality work.
• Specially resourced provision effectively supports pupils with SEND.
• The curriculum is well-designed and implemented with clarity and precision.
• There is strong provision for broader development through extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils receive independent careers advice and are well-prepared for future endeavors.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment practices are not consistently effective in addressing pupils' errors and misconceptions.

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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.3% 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, 8.0% of pupils at St Columba's Catholic Boys' 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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 9.6% of pupils at St Columba's Catholic Boys' School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 23 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 2024–25 St Columba's Catholic Boys' School received £9,417 and spent £9,773 for each of its 815 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £687,000 (£843 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of St Oscar Romero Catholic Academy Trust, income was £8,412 and spending £8,501 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

St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is part of St Oscar Romero Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Bexleyheath
• St Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School Sidcup
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School London
• St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School London
• Notre Dame Catholic Primary School London
• St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School Orpington
• St Vincent's Catholic Primary School London
• St Philomena's Primary School Orpington
• St James' Roman Catholic Primary School Orpington
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Bromley

What is St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

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

St Columba's Catholic Boys' School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St Columba's Catholic Boys' School have?

St Columba's Catholic Boys' School has 805 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Columba's Catholic Boys' School cover?

St Columba's Catholic Boys' School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.9, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Columba's Catholic Boys' School?

St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is at Halcot Avenue, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7QB.