St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow

St Bernard’s Catholic High School is a newly established academy that has been rated as good overall in its first inspection. The school fosters a positive learning environment where pupils feel valued and safe, with strong relationships between staff and students. The curriculum offers a wide array of subjects and activities, supporting both academic achievement and personal development, with particular strengths noted in the area of reading and vocabulary development. However, the school faces challenges with a low proportion of pupils following the full English Baccalaureate curriculum, which could limit future opportunities for some students.

Strengths

• Positive learning community emphasizing kindness and resilience.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff.
• Well-organized and ambitious curriculum in most subjects.
• Effective programs supporting reading and vocabulary development.
• High levels of pupil participation in clubs and sports.

Areas for Improvement

• Low proportion of pupils following the full English Baccalaureate curriculum.
• Inconsistency in curriculum development in a small number of subjects.

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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.4% 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, 12.6% of pupils at St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow 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 St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.0% 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, 10.3% of pupils at St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.9% 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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow received £8,776 and spent £8,323 for each of its 674 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,155,000 (£1,714 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, income was £8,234 and spending £8,275 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 Barrow-In-Furness · Westmorland and Furness local authority: places and applications

St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is part of Mater Christi Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• St Pius X Catholic Primary School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Barrow Barrow-In-Furness
• Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, Dalton-In-Furness Dalton-In-Furness
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Ulverston Ulverston
• St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster Lancaster
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Carnforth Carnforth
• St Cuthberts Catholic Primary School, Windermere Windermere
• Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal Kendal
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, Workington Workington
• St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington Workington

What is St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow last inspected by Ofsted?

St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow have?

St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow has 624 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow cover?

St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.5, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow?

St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is at Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA13 9LE.