St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy

St Mary's Catholic College is a school showing a strong standard of education, with leaders committed to improving pupil attendance and behaviour. The school has made notable progress in establishing a positive and safe environment for pupils, where they feel well-supported and respected. Safeguarding standards are met, and there is a clear focus on improving academic outcomes, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs. Nonetheless, leaders acknowledge that overall pupil achievement, particularly at the end of key stage 4, needs to improve to meet national expectations. The school's context as part of the Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust provides additional governance support.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and high expectations from staff
• Improved attendance and behaviour among pupils
• Effective strategies for supporting pupils with special educational needs
• Well-planned and ambitious curriculum
• Positive attitudes to learning among most pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should in public examinations
• Inconsistent use of checks to identify and address gaps in pupils' learning
• Attendance improvement still requires further development

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 Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy attended 87.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.6% 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, 15.6% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.9% 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, 20.3% of pupils at St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 22 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 Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy received £9,251 and spent £10,072 for each of its 1,130 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £658,000 (-£582 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,250 and spending £8,645 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 Wallasey · Wirral local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy is part of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• St Alban's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Wallasey
• SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Wallasey
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead Prenton
• Our Lady of Pity Catholic Primary and Nursery School Wirral
• St John Plessington Catholic College Wirral
• St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary & Nursery School Ellesmere Port
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Runcorn
• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Warrington

What is St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy has 1,073 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.0, and 19% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy?

St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy is at Wallasey Village, Wallasey, Merseyside, CH45 3LN.