Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #33 in Lancashire public Top 23% UK

St Cecilia's RC High School

verifiedData: DfE & Ofsted 2024/25

personMrs Helen Hall

location_onPreston, PR3 2XA

language Visit Website phone 1772783074

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

532

trending_up

Attainment 8

46.2

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GCSE Rank

#32 in Lancashire

#1,512 of 3,216 nationally

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St Cecilia's RC High School is a Voluntary aided school secondary school in Preston, serving ages 11-16. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.1×) — apply through your local authority on time.

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School Summary

St Cecilia's RC High School is a voluntary aided school in Preston, Lancashire, admitting pupils aged 11-16. The school has approximately 570 pupils on roll, of whom 30% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 46.2, placing the school #32 in Lancashire and #1,512 of 3,216 nationally. 41.70% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 20.9% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Outstanding, and leadership and management Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.1× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 4 permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 5.2 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: Department for Education 2024/25, Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

46.2

Grade 5+ E&M

41.70%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)20.9%

Entering EBacc22.60%

EBacc APS3.93

2024

Progress 8 Score

0.12

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

45.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc14.60%

EBacc APS3.82

2023

Progress 8 Score

0.11

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

47.3

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc24%

EBacc APS4.13

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.3

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

45.1

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc23%

EBacc APS3.79

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc15%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.03

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

48.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc33%

EBacc APS4.25

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.14

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

44.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc28%

EBacc APS3.74

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

92%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)78%

Apprenticeships8%

Employment6%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

90%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)71%

Apprenticeships12%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)10%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

94%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)77%

Apprenticeships10%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)4%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

88%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)69%

Apprenticeships15%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)12%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)84%

Apprenticeships1%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 January 2025

Inspection Report

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15 October 2019

Inspection Report

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12 January 2016

Inspection Report

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24 September 2014

Inspection Report

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28 November 2013

Inspection Report

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02 October 2013

Inspection Report

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14 September 2011

Inspection Report

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29 June 2010

Inspection Report

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16 December 2008

Inspection Report

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14 November 2005

Inspection Report

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05 December 2000

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-01-07

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

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Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Outstanding

Leadership

Good

2016-01-12

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2013-10-02

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

4.2%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

3.2%(18 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 570 pupils. During this period, there were 24 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 4.2%, which is below the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	570	24	4.2%	7.3%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	580	36	6.2%	7.8%	3
2023/24 (Summer term)	556	26	4.7%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	562	21	3.7%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	564	33	5.9%	8.2%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	532	24	4.5%	6.6%	2
2022/23 (Spring term)	532	28	5.3%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	524	29	5.5%	5.9%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	505	10	2.0%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	505	14	2.8%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	506	31	6.1%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	465	13	2.8%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	467	5	1.1%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	466	20	4.3%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	415	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	415	20	4.8%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	415	26	6.3%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	368	21	5.7%	3.1%	1
2018/19 (Spring term)	368	15	4.1%	3.8%	2
2018/19 (Autumn term)	369	40	10.8%	3.8%	1
2017/18 (Summer term)	335	8	2.4%	3.4%	1
2017/18 (Spring term)	330	11	3.3%	3.0%	2
2017/18 (Autumn term)	332	24	7.2%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	315	22	7.0%	3.0%	2
2016/17 (Spring term)	312	13	4.2%	3.3%	2
2016/17 (Autumn term)	313	39	12.5%	3.1%	2

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 15 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 9 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 4 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 4 pupils

Hearing Impairment 3 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 2 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils