Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School is a larger-than-average Catholic academy in the Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, with an acting headteacher appointed in January 2026. The school has been through significant leadership change and challenge. Safeguarding standards are met, and inspectors found an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision are secure, with leaders having responded swiftly to areas that previously fell short. Post-16 students achieve well, including above-national value added at A level, and pupils benefit from a thoughtful personal development programme, strong pastoral support, and a wide range of extra-curricular and careers opportunities. However, four areas need attention: achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, and inclusion. Key stage 4 examination results have been below national averages for some time, and disadvantaged pupils have much lower outcomes and a large progress gap. Teaching adaptations for pupils with SEND or disadvantage are not consistently applied, and strategies for writing and mathematics are underdeveloped. Too many pupils are persistently absent, although attendance is improving. Some teachers do not check learning well enough to move pupils on or slow learning appropriately, and new inclusion systems are too new to show impact. Overall, this is a school in transition that is moving in the right direction. Leaders have strengthened oversight, improved teaching and attendance monitoring, and current pupils are making better progress. But significant work remains to raise achievement, embed the curriculum consistently, reduce absence, and ensure all pupils, especially the most vulnerable, receive timely support.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and acted on.
• Leaders and governors responded swiftly and effectively to areas falling short.
• Governance has the right knowledge, skills, and experience and fulfils statutory duties.
• Parents value the pastoral support that helps attendance and engagement.
• Staff appreciate support with workload and wellbeing during a period of upheaval.
• A thoughtful personal development programme covers online safety, healthy relationships, and life in modern Britain.
• Pupils can access a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including Duke of Edinburgh, sports, and debates.
• Leaders monitor participation and remove barriers, such as providing financial support for trips.
• Pupils are typically respectful and polite, and bullying is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Well-trained staff support pupils' wellbeing and personal development effectively.
• Careers education, work experience, and local business visits help pupils plan their next steps.
• Post-16 provision is strong: students achieve well, especially at A level, with effective teaching and support.
• Sixth-form students benefit from wider opportunities such as British Sign Language, first aid, budgeting, and nutrition.
• Leaders have strengthened strategic oversight and secured improvements in teaching and current pupil progress.
• Attendance monitoring has improved and more pupils are attending than in the past.
• Clear routines create a calm and purposeful atmosphere with positive relationships.
• The curriculum is ambitious and logically ordered, and teaching quality is improving.
• Reading support has been strengthened, including for pupils at the earliest stages.
• New inclusion systems identify needs earlier, and leaders work effectively with external agencies.
• Use of disadvantaged pupil funding has improved with research-informed approaches.

Areas for Improvement

• Key stage 4 examination results have been below national averages for some time.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are well below national, with a large disadvantage gap.
• Teaching adaptations for pupils with SEND or disadvantage are not used consistently well enough.
• Gaps in pupils' learning are not addressed quickly enough.
• Strategies to develop writing and mathematical knowledge are in their infancy.
• Errors in pupils' writing and mathematics are not corrected quickly enough.
• Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough, including persistent absentees.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages.
• Curriculum implementation is not yet fully effective.
• Some teachers do not check effectively what pupils know and can do.
• Some pupils are not learning as well as they should because learning is not moved on or slowed appropriately.
• New inclusion systems are too new to determine their impact.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils is applied inconsistently in classrooms.
• Leaders recognise there is still more work to do.

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 Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy attended 89.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.9% 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, 5.6% of pupils at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.3% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.3% 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 Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy received £8,795 and spent £8,806 for each of its 970 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £154,000 (-£159 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,593 and spending £6,619 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 Ellesmere Port · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy is part of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• St Saviour's Catholic Primary and Nursery School, A Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port
• St Mary of The Angels Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Winsford
• St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Middlewich
• St Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School Knutsford
• Our Lady and St Oswald's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Oswestry
• St. Benedict's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Wilmslow
• Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School Congleton
• St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Macclesfield
• All Hallows Catholic College Macclesfield

What is Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy have?

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy has 950 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy cover?

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.2, and 18% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy?

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy is at Capenhurst Lane, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 7AQ.