Painsley Catholic College

Painsley Catholic College is performing well overall, receiving a 'good' rating in leadership, management, and behaviour and attitudes, with 'outstanding' ratings in the quality of education and sixth-form provision. The school has maintained high academic expectations for its pupils, who make excellent progress and achieve high standards. The school has not been previously inspected under the current inspection framework, but it had an outstanding grade prior to becoming an academy. The school is well-equipped to prepare students for their next stages in education or employment.

Strengths

• Pupils make excellent progress across all subjects.
• Exceptional preparation for students transitioning to Year 11 and Year 13.
• Strong emphasis on personal development and a rich variety of extra-curricular activities.
• High-quality careers advice and guidance throughout the school.
• Effective governance with good communication and support for leaders.
• Rigorous assessment regime supports effective teaching and learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils hesitate to report issues or concerns to staff.
• Parents express dissatisfaction with how some issues are managed by leaders.

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 Painsley Catholic College attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 12.3% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Painsley Catholic College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Painsley Catholic College had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.2% 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, 9.8% of pupils at Painsley Catholic College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 98 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 Painsley Catholic College received £8,383 and spent £8,808 for each of its 1,318 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £450,000 (£341 per pupil).

Across all 56 schools of St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,565 and spending £7,594 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 Stoke-On-Trent · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Painsley Catholic College is part of St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 64 schools. The nearest others:

• St Giles' Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Thomas' Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Filumena's Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• The Faber Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Augustine's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Gregory's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Thomas More Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Our Lady and St Benedict Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Our Lady's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent

What is Painsley Catholic College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Painsley Catholic College is Good, from an inspection in July 2022.

When was Painsley Catholic College last inspected by Ofsted?

Painsley Catholic College was last inspected in July 2022.

How many pupils does Painsley Catholic College have?

Painsley Catholic College has 1,340 pupils on roll.

What age range does Painsley Catholic College cover?

Painsley Catholic College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Painsley Catholic College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 56.3, and 60% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Painsley Catholic College?

Painsley Catholic College is at Station Road, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST10 1LH.