Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is a school demonstrating good overall performance, significantly improving since its previous inspection grade of requires improvement. The leadership team's ambition and high expectations have fostered a positive school environment, characterized by strong staff-pupil relationships and a commitment to community engagement. The curriculum is broad and challenging, effectively preparing pupils for their future studies while also incorporating essential personal development education. However, the school is still addressing some challenges related to consistent assessment practices across all subjects and providing robust support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• High expectations set by staff for all pupils
• Strong curriculum challenging pupils academically
• Effective support for personal development and careers guidance
• Positive behaviour and relationships within the school community
• Good collaboration with parents for supporting SEND students
• Recognition as a lead school for careers advice within the local authority

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment in some foundation subjects
• Lack of sufficient expertise among some staff in supporting SEND pupils

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 Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.0% 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, 10.9% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% 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, 19.7% of pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% 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 Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary received £8,224 and spent £8,329 for each of its 744 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £484,000 (£651 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, income was £7,521 and spending £7,443 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 Redcar · Redcar and Cleveland local authority: places and applications

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is part of Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Redcar
• St Bede's Catholic Primary School Redcar
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Peter's Catholic College Middlesbrough
• St Margaret Clitherows RC Primary School Middlesbrough
• Corpus Christi RC Primary School Middlesbrough
• Saint Gabriel's Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• Saint Paulinus Catholic Primary School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy Guisborough
• St Alphonsus' Catholic Primary School Middlesbrough
• St Pius X Catholic Primary School, a Catholic Voluntary Academy Middlesbrough

What is Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary last inspected by Ofsted?

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary have?

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary has 737 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary cover?

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 47.5, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary?

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is at Mersey Road, Redcar, North Yorkshire, TS10 1PJ.