St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy in the Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, was inspected in February 2025 and was judged outstanding in every area: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This is the school's first section 5 inspection since November 2014, as it had previously been exempt from routine inspection after being graded outstanding. Inspection findings describe an exceptional school where inclusivity is central and pupils consistently embody the school's values of faithfulness, humility, truth, forgiveness, tolerance, dignity, service and respect. Pupils feel safe, form excellent relationships with staff, and display exemplary conduct and a genuine enthusiasm for learning.

Strengths

• Highly ambitious, broad and balanced curriculum that exceeds national curriculum breadth in areas such as history
• Pupils achieve outcomes significantly above national averages across subjects
• Teachers are subject experts who adapt lessons well and use consistent strategies to help pupils retain knowledge
• Reading is a priority, with highly effective support enabling struggling readers to become confident and fluent
• Exceptional support for disadvantaged pupils, who achieve extremely well
• Swift identification of pupils with SEND, with bespoke support and a tailored curriculum for a small number
• Exemplary pupil conduct, with low-level disruption extremely rare and an embedded behaviour system
• Attendance is above national averages and improving, supported by an effective attendance system
• Exceptional personal development offer, including a key stage 3 baccalaureate and extensive leadership roles
• A school parliament involving 150 pupils who help make meaningful decisions about the school
• Structured careers advice from key stage 3 through to the end of the sixth form
• Wide-ranging sixth-form options with strong preparation for top universities, including Oxbridge
• Governors and trustees bring a diverse skill set and effectively support and challenge leaders
• Comprehensive staff professional development and a trust-wide staff well-being charter
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

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 Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.2% 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, 3.3% of pupils at St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy 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 St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.4% 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, 13.7% of pupils at St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.8% 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. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy received £7,308 and spent £7,730 for each of its 1,215 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £301,000 (-£248 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,980 and spending £7,208 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 Ilkley · Leeds local authority: places and applications

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Leeds
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Otley Otley
• The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Ilkley
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Horsforth Leeds
• Holy Name Catholic Voluntary Academy Leeds
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Pudsey
• St John Fisher Catholic Academy Harrogate
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Harrogate, A Voluntary Academy Harrogate
• St Robert's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Harrogate
• St Stephen's Catholic Primary School and Nursery, A Voluntary Academy Skipton

What is St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy has 1,211 pupils on roll.

What age range does St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 56.6, and 71% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy?

St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Bradford Road, Menston, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 6AE.