Ursuline College

Ursuline College is performing well overall, receiving a 'Good' rating in all inspected areas. Pupils express high levels of satisfaction and pride in their school, benefiting from respectful relationships with staff and their peers. The school provides effective support and guidance to help students through their educational journeys, including valuable career advice. Staff are committed to fostering a supportive environment characterized by a strong sense of community, in line with the school’s Catholic ethos. While the school has notable strengths, there are areas for improvement, specifically regarding the physical education curriculum and attendance rates among certain groups of students. Despite good practices in teaching and learning, it has been observed that not all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive the tailored support necessary for their full potential. Leadership is keenly aware of these issues and is taking steps to ensure improvements in these areas.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and staff
• Effective support for students' personal development
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum
• High-quality careers guidance for students
• Positive school culture promoting respect and cooperation
• Wide range of extracurricular activities available

Areas for Improvement

• Limited physical education curriculum for key stage 4 pupils
• Some pupils, including in the sixth form, have high rates of absence
• Inconsistent support for pupils with SEND

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 Ursuline College attended 88.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.9% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Ursuline 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 Ursuline College had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Ursuline College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% 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 Ursuline College received £8,176 and spent £8,180 for each of its 938 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £622,000 (£663 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 Thanet · Kent local authority: places and applications

Ursuline College is part of Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Margate Margate
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Broadstairs Broadstairs
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Aylesham Canterbury
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Deal
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable Whitstable
• St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury Canterbury
• St Edmund's Catholic School Dover
• St Richard's Catholic Primary School Dover
• Stella Maris Catholic Primary School Folkestone
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School Hythe

What is Ursuline College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ursuline College is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Ursuline College last inspected by Ofsted?

Ursuline College was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Ursuline College have?

Ursuline College has 949 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ursuline College cover?

Ursuline College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ursuline College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.0, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ursuline College?

Ursuline College is at 225 Canterbury Road, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, CT8 8LX.