St Benedict's Catholic High School

St Benedict's Catholic High School has made significant strides since its previous inspection, moving from a grade of Requires Improvement to Good in overall effectiveness as well as in all evaluated domains. The school benefits from a supportive community atmosphere, where pupils engage well with their learning and feel safe. The leadership has successfully raised expectations and developed a cohesive curriculum that caters to a diverse student body, including those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). In particular, the school's commitment to personal development and well-being is commendable, fostering pupils' confidence and happiness within a respectful environment.

Strengths

• Strong community environment that promotes learning, integrity, faith, and excellence.
• Warm and respectful relationships among pupils and staff.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND through tailored teaching strategies.
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that improves pupil outcomes.
• Robust and high-quality personal, social, health, and economic education.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding across all subjects.
• Attendance issues, particularly among disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, affect their progress.
• Insufficient analysis of improvement actions hampers understanding of the effectiveness of strategies.

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 Benedict's Catholic High School attended 92.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.9% 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, 9.2% of pupils at St Benedict's Catholic High School 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 Benedict's Catholic High School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.5% 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, 26.8% of pupils at St Benedict's Catholic High School 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 St Benedict's Catholic High School received £8,542 and spent £8,673 for each of its 515 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £351,000 (£681 per pupil).

Across all 24 schools of St Raphael the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,227 and spending £7,273 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 Alcester · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

St Benedict's Catholic High School is part of St Raphael the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Alcester
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Studley
• St Augustine's Catholic High School Redditch
• St Thomas More Catholic First School Redditch
• St Bede's Catholic Middle School Redditch
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Henley-In-Arden
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School Stratford-Upon-Avon
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic First School Redditch
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School Evesham
• St Peter's Catholic First School Bromsgrove

What is St Benedict's Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Benedict's Catholic High School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was St Benedict's Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Benedict's Catholic High School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does St Benedict's Catholic High School have?

St Benedict's Catholic High School has 455 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Benedict's Catholic High School cover?

St Benedict's Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Benedict's Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.5, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Benedict's Catholic High School?

St Benedict's Catholic High School is at Kinwarton Road, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 6PX.