St Wilfrid's RC College

St Wilfrid’s RC College is a mixed 11–19 Catholic academy in the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust. Inspectors found a school with an effective, well-sequenced curriculum, good personal development and a good sixth form, but quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management require improvement. Many pupils achieve well and reading has a positive profile, yet classroom experience is too variable and some tasks do not deepen pupils’ thinking. The main concerns are inconsistent behaviour and assessment practice, weaker outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, variable attendance and punctuality among younger pupils, and unsuccessful communication with some stakeholders. Recent leadership changes are having a positive effect, but improvement is at an early stage and not yet embedded. Safeguarding is effective, careers and PSHE are strong, and sixth-form students achieve in line with peers nationally and progress to ambitious destinations. The school has a new headteacher who took up post in September 2024 and is part of a trust. It was previously judged outstanding and exempt from routine inspection, but under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is awarded.

Strengths

• Well-sequenced and effective curriculum across the school
• Many pupils achieve well and secure their next steps
• Strong focus on reading, vocabulary and early intervention
• Effective PSHE curriculum that teaches age-appropriate safety
• Well-developed careers education and opportunities
• Good sixth-form provision with positive relationships and effective support
• Sixth-form students attend well, are punctual and reach ambitious destinations
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Strong leadership vision and effective trust and governance support
• Broad extra-curricular programme and student leadership opportunities

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils disrupt learning and social times, and behaviour policies are not implemented consistently
• Pupils and parents lack confidence in how bullying and behaviour concerns are addressed
• Assessment and checks on pupils’ understanding are underdeveloped
• Some lesson tasks do not extend pupils’ thinking or help them make connections
• Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are not consistently strong
• SEND support plans are not consistently implemented and barriers to learning are not well understood
• Attendance and punctuality are variable for younger, disadvantaged and SEND pupils
• Communication with stakeholders about improvement changes has been unsuccessful
• Some staff want more support in managing behaviour and pressures
• Improvement is at an early stage and recent changes are not embedded

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 Wilfrid's RC College attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.5% 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, 10.2% of pupils at St Wilfrid's RC College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 10 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 Wilfrid's RC College had 14.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 11.6% of pupils at St Wilfrid's RC College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.2% 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 Wilfrid's RC College received £8,093 and spent £7,894 for each of its 1,343 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,984,000 (£2,222 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,338 and spending £7,295 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 South Shields · South Tyneside local authority: places and applications

St Wilfrid's RC College is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, which runs 31 schools. The nearest others:

• SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Bede's Catholic Primary School, South Shields South Shields
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Jarrow
• St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Jarrow
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Jarrow
• St Matthew's Catholic Primary School, Jarrow Jarrow
• St John Bosco Catholic Primary School, Town End Farm, Sunderland Sunderland
• St James' Catholic Primary School, Hebburn Hebburn

What is St Wilfrid's RC College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Wilfrid's RC College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St Wilfrid's RC College last inspected by Ofsted?

St Wilfrid's RC College was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St Wilfrid's RC College have?

St Wilfrid's RC College has 1,271 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Wilfrid's RC College cover?

St Wilfrid's RC College for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are St Wilfrid's RC College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.0, and 42% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Wilfrid's RC College?

St Wilfrid's RC College is at Temple Park Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE34 0QA.