St Michael's Catholic Academy

St Michael’s Catholic Academy is performing well, maintaining a good overall effectiveness since its last inspection in 2017. The school prides itself on a caring and welcoming environment where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to develop virtues such as respect and compassion. The quality of education is strong, with a well-designed curriculum that is particularly effective for pupils including those with special educational needs. However, there are some areas where further improvements are needed, particularly in the consistency of implementation of teaching strategies and support for the weakest readers.

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming school environment
• Strong personal development curriculum with extra-curricular activities
• Effective anti-bullying initiatives with active student participation
• Well-designed curriculum plans that support knowledge retention
• Strong subject knowledge among teachers
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils enhancing a safe atmosphere
• Effective safeguarding measures in place

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of curriculum by some teachers
• Need for improvement in assessing pupils' knowledge accurately
• Reading support plans are not fully implemented
• Insufficient analysis of management information 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 St Michael's Catholic Academy attended 89.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.5% 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 Michael's Catholic Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Michael's Catholic Academy had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.9% 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, 17.8% of pupils at St Michael's Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.1% 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 Michael's Catholic Academy received £7,942 and spent £8,259 for each of its 945 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,795,000 (£1,900 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,699 and spending £7,759 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 Billingham · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

St Michael's Catholic Academy is part of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, which runs 35 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Billingham
• St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School Billingham
• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Academy Billingham
• St Paul's Catholic Primary School Billingham
• St Joseph's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Gregory's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Hartlepool
• St Bede's Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Our Lady & St. Bede Catholic Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Stockton Stockton-On-Tees

What is St Michael's Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Catholic Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St Michael's Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Catholic Academy was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St Michael's Catholic Academy have?

St Michael's Catholic Academy has 892 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Catholic Academy cover?

St Michael's Catholic Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Michael's Catholic Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.5, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Michael's Catholic Academy?

St Michael's Catholic Academy is at Beamish Road, Billingham, TS23 3DX.