St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury

St Anselm’s Catholic School in Canterbury is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all inspection domains. The school prides itself on creating a nurturing environment where differences among pupils are celebrated and respected. There is a strong sense of community and belonging, with effective partnerships between staff and families contributing to students' social and academic success. Most pupils thrive academically, supported by a well-structured curriculum and dedicated staff who provide high-quality training and support, especially for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Caring and supportive environment for all pupils.
• Strong partnership with parents and carers.
• High aspirations for all pupils with effective learning environments.
• Well-structured curriculum that builds over time.
• Effective pastoral support enhances pupils' well-being.
• Excellent careers advice and guidance for students.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum delivery affecting pupil learning.
• Small number of pupils with poor attendance.

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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.8% 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, 3.5% of pupils at St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury 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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.9% 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, 17.9% of pupils at St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 12 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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury received £7,845 and spent £7,797 for each of its 1,113 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £734,000 (£659 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, income was £6,963 and spending £6,776 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 Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is part of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham Canterbury
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Whitstable
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Deal
• Stella Maris Catholic Primary School Folkestone
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Ashford
• St Edmund's Catholic School Dover
• Ursuline College Westgate-On-Sea
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Hythe
• St Richard's Catholic Primary School Dover
• St Simon of England Roman Catholic Primary School, Ashford Ashford

What is St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury last inspected by Ofsted?

St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury have?

St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury has 1,116 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury cover?

St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.0, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury?

St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is at Old Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3EN.