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Cardinal Pole Catholic School

Secondary Ages 11-19 980 pupils London
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Hackney

Cardinal Pole Catholic School is an academy converter in Hackney for pupils aged 11 to 19. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 980 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Cardinal Pole Catholic School is Good, from an inspection in March 2022 of its predecessor, Cardinal Pole Catholic School. In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.1, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Ofsted inspection: September 2024. GCSE results: 2026. A-level results: 2025.

Type Secondary / Academy converter
Age Range 11-19
Religion Roman Catholic
Address 205 Morning Lane
Hackney
London
E9 6LG
Phone 02089855150
Reference Number 150604

General Makeup

Number of pupils 980
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 50%
Girls: 50%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 68.3%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 37.4%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 19

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 87 79 166
8 77 93 170
9 81 76 157
10 92 61 153
11 98 63 161
12 20 59 79
13 35 59 94

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
African 45.1%
Caribbean 15.9%
White & Black (Caribbean) 5%
White, Other 4.5%
Mixed, Other 4.1%
Unclassified 4%
White, British 2.4%
White & Black (African) 1.8%
Indian 0.7%
Asian, Other 0.5%
White & Asian 0.4%
Irish 0.2%
Chinese 0.1%
Pakistani 0.1%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Cardinal Pole Catholic School, inspected in March 2022.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date This school has not had an inspection yet.
Date Report
05 Sep 2024 Academy conversion letter

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
46.1

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 49.4%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 64.2%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade C+ B- C+
Average Grade (best 3) C+ B- C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 4.5%
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Year 7 admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 72 11
Third Preference 50 4
From another Local Authority 48 18

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Cardinal Pole Catholic School had 1,051 pupils for 1,143 places. 92 places (8.0%) were unfilled.

Year 7 intake in the “Hackney Secondary” planning area

Hackney counted 2,345 Year 7 pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 1,995 in 2031–32, down 15%.

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 Cardinal Pole Catholic School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2025
Authorised absence 4.4%
Unauthorised absence 4.0%
Severely absent pupils 3.1%

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, 6.9% of pupils at Cardinal Pole Catholic School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 9.7
Permanent exclusions 6

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 Cardinal Pole Catholic School had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20252026
Pupils per adult 12.211.4
Teachers who left state teaching 17.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 80.0%–
Sick days per teacher 5.6–

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, 15.1% of pupils at Cardinal Pole Catholic School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 42 17
Social, emotional and mental health 39 8
Moderate learning difficulty 36 5
Autistic spectrum disorder 9 5
No specialist assessment of need 8 0
Physical disability 5 1
Other difficulty or disability 2 3
Specific learning difficulty 4 0
Vision impairment 3 1

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 Cardinal Pole Catholic School received £10,766 and spent £11,249 for each of its 1,057 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,686,000 (£1,595 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Lux Mundi Catholic Academy Trust, income was £11,118 and spending £11,633 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2025
Revenue reserve £1,686,000
per pupil £1,595
In-year balance -£511,000
per pupil -£484

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.

Name Distance
Berger Primary School
Anderson Road, Hackney, London, E9 6HB
0.13 miles
Morningside Primary School
Chatham Place, Hackney, Morningside Primary School, London, E9 6LL
0.13 miles
St John and St James CofE Primary School
Isabella Road, Hackney, London, E9 6DX
0.13 miles
The Olive School, Hackney
32 St Johns Church Road, Hackney, London, E9 6EJ
0.3 miles
Wentworth Nursery School and Children's Centre
Cassland Road, London, E9 5BY
0.37 miles
Orchard Primary School
Holcroft Road, Hackney, London, E9 7BB
0.43 miles
St John of Jerusalem Church of England Primary School
Kingshold Road, St. John of Jerusalem C of E Primary School, London, E9 7JF
0.49 miles
Daubeney Primary School
Daubeney Road, Clapton, London, E5 0EG
0.56 miles
Rushmore Primary School
Elderfield Road, Hackney, London, E5 0LE
0.57 miles
Millfields Community School
Hilsea Street, Hackney, London, E5 0SH
0.63 miles
Mossbourne Parkside Academy
Sigdon Road, Hackney, London, E8 1AS
0.66 miles
Kingsmead Primary School
Kingsmead Way, London, E9 5PP
0.69 miles
Lauriston School
Rutland Road, London, E9 7JS
0.72 miles
Gayhurst Community School
Gayhurst Road, Hackney, London, E8 3EN
0.73 miles
Mandeville Primary School
Oswald Street, Hackney, London, E5 0BT
0.77 miles
Nightingale Primary School
Tiger Way, Hackney, London, E5 8NA
0.82 miles
London Fields Primary School
Westgate Street, Hackney, London, E8 3RL
0.87 miles
Al-Falah Primary School
48 Kenninghall Road, Lower Clapton, London, E5 8BY
0.91 miles
Gainsborough Primary School
Berkshire Road, London, E9 5ND
0.92 miles
Mowlem Primary School
Mowlem Street, Bishops Way, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9HE
0.97 miles
Name Distance
The City Academy, Hackney
Homerton Row, Hackney, London, E9 6EA
0.12 miles
The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School
Paragon Road, Hackney, London, E9 6NR
0.33 miles
Ickburgh School
Kenworthy Road, Hackney, London, E9 5RB
0.44 miles
Clapton Girls' Academy
Laura Place, Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0RB
0.57 miles
Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy
Victoria Park Road, Hackney, London, E9 7HD
0.59 miles
Stormont House School
Downs Park Road, London, E5 8NP
0.65 miles
Mossbourne Community Academy
100 Downs Park Road, Hackney, London, E5 8JY
0.68 miles
The Excelsior Academy
Shacklewell Lane, Hackney, London, E8 2EY
1.1 miles
Mulberry UTC
64 Parnell Road, London, E3 2RU
1.2 miles
Leaways School
18 Theydon Road, Clapton, London, E5 9NZ
1.21 miles
City of London Academy, Shoreditch Park
Hyde Road, London, N1 5JU
1.24 miles
The Bridge Academy
Laburnum Street, Hackney, London, E2 8BA
1.35 miles
Oaklands School
Old Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6PR
1.38 miles
Waterside Academy
317-319 Kingsland Road, London, E8 4DL
1.4 miles
Morpeth School
Portman Place, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0PX
1.42 miles
The Garden School
Wordsworth Road, London, N16 8BZ
1.43 miles
Beis Trana Girls' School
186 Upper Clapton Road, London, E5 9DH
1.44 miles
Darul Hadis Latifiah
1 Cornwall Avenue, London, E2 0HW
1.45 miles
Haggerston School
Weymouth Terrace, Hackney, London, E2 8LS
1.46 miles
Tayyibah Girls' School
88 Filey Avenue, Stamford Hill, London, N16 6JJ
1.53 miles

All schools in Hackney · Hackney local authority: places and applications

What is Cardinal Pole Catholic School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cardinal Pole Catholic School is Good, from an inspection in March 2022 of its predecessor, Cardinal Pole Catholic School.

When was Cardinal Pole Catholic School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cardinal Pole Catholic School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Cardinal Pole Catholic School have?

Cardinal Pole Catholic School has 980 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cardinal Pole Catholic School cover?

Cardinal Pole Catholic School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Cardinal Pole Catholic School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.1, and 49% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cardinal Pole Catholic School?

Cardinal Pole Catholic School is at 205 Morning Lane, Hackney, London, E9 6LG.

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