St Katherine's School

St Katherine's School is a secondary school with a sixth form and is part of the Amplify Education trust, which it joined in March 2026 after a trust merger. Inspectors found the school performing at the expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development, and post-16 provision. Safeguarding standards are met. The school's main strengths are its ambitious curriculum, positive and calm culture, and the quality of support for pupils. Pupils generally achieve in line with national averages, including in GCSE English and mathematics, and do particularly well in subjects such as sport and engineering. Attendance is improving, pupils are respectful, bullying is rare, and inclusion sits at the heart of leaders' work. Careers education and enrichment are strong, including in the sixth form, and staff feel well supported. There are still areas to improve. Academic progress in the sixth form is not consistently strong, and the school's usual teaching routines are not applied as well in post-16 lessons. Some pupils with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils do not attend regularly enough, and overall and persistent absence were above national averages in the latest two-term data. Disadvantaged pupils' GCSE outcomes in English and mathematics, and A-level average point scores, were also below national averages. Leaders are already working on post-16 quality and attendance, and the next steps are to embed these improvements so all groups benefit consistently.

Strengths

• Pupils progress well through an ambitious curriculum and typically produce high-quality work.
• Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages, with particularly strong outcomes in sport and engineering.
• Attendance is improving because of systematic strategies and targeted support.
• Pupils are respectful, have positive attitudes to learning, and classrooms are calm and orderly.
• Bullying is rare and dealt with quickly, and pupils feel safe and trust staff.
• Teachers generally deliver the curriculum well using consistent whole-school routines.
• Leaders identify SEND needs promptly and provide effective pastoral and academic support.
• Inclusion is central to the school's work, and disadvantaged pupils benefit from wider enrichment opportunities.
• Leaders use additional funding thoughtfully, including for music and Duke of Edinburgh opportunities.
• Staff enjoy working at the school and receive targeted professional learning.
• Trustees and governors provide effective challenge and support.
• Personal development, enrichment, and careers education are strong, including in the sixth form.
• Sixth-form students benefit from an ambitious curriculum, specialist staff, and good pastoral support.
• Students are well prepared for ambitious destinations and their next steps.

Areas for Improvement

• Academic progress in post-16 is not consistently strong.
• Whole-school teaching routines are not applied as consistently in post-16 lessons.
• Some pupils with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils do not attend school regularly enough.
• Overall absence and persistent absence were above national averages in the latest two-term data.
• Disadvantaged pupils' English and mathematics GCSE outcomes were below national averages in 2024/25.
• The disadvantage gap remains wide, including in English and mathematics and attainment measures.
• A-level average point score was below the national average in 2024/25.
• Leaders need to continue embedding improvements to post-16 provision.
• Leaders need to ensure attendance improvements are embedded and sustained for all groups.

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 Katherine's School attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.1% 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, 7.3% of pupils at St Katherine's School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Katherine's School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.9% 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, 7.0% of pupils at St Katherine's School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.7% 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 Katherine's School received £8,392 and spent £8,035 for each of its 998 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £472,000 (£473 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Amplify Education, income was £8,102 and spending £8,050 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 Bristol · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Katherine's School is part of Amplify Education, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Nova Primary School Bristol
• Hotwells Primary School Bristol
• Henleaze Junior School Bristol
• Henleaze Infant School Bristol
• Henbury Court Primary Academy Bristol
• Ashton Gate Primary School Bristol
• Bristol Cathedral Choir School Bristol
• Cathedral Primary School Bristol
• Little Mead Primary Academy Bristol
• Parson Street Primary School Bristol

What is St Katherine's School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Katherine's School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Katherine's School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Katherine's School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Katherine's School have?

St Katherine's School has 976 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Katherine's School cover?

St Katherine's School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Katherine's School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.2, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Katherine's School?

St Katherine's School is at Pill Road, Ham Green, Bristol, Somerset, BS20 0HU.