SCHOOL PROFILE

Holy Family Catholic School

Secondary Voluntary aided school URN 103106
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,240 Published school capacity
Capacity used 94.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

21 March 2023
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Waltham Forest
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,175 1,175 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 572 48.7% of pupils
Male pupils 603 51.3% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

32.7%
7.9 pts above England
School 32.7%
Waltham Forest 24.7%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

40.0%
19.7 pts above England
School 40.0%
Waltham Forest 38.9%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.1%
0.9 pts below England
School 0.1%
Waltham Forest 0.4%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

African
27.1%
319
Any other White background
20.8%
244
Caribbean
10.7%
126
Any other Black background
9.3%
109
Any other Asian background
8.3%
97
Any other Mixed background
4.3%
50
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 10.9% 128 of 1,175 pupils
9.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 10.9%
Waltham Forest 19.6%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 6.6% 78 pupils
England 14.8% 8.1 pts below
EHC plans 4.3% 50 pupils
England 6.0% 1.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 32
Autistic spectrum disorder 28
Speech, language & communication 25
Specific learning difficulty 13
Moderate learning difficulty 12
No specialist assessment yet 6

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

45.5 6.3 pts above England
School 45.5
Waltham Forest 41.4
London 42.1
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 43.0% England 36.0% 7.0 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 64.0% England 51.4% 12.6 pts above England
EBacc entry 49.0% England 30.6% 18.4 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.12 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: -0.04 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.01%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.79 pts higher than England
School 7.01%
Waltham Forest 6.46%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.24%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.42 pts higher than England
School 20.24%
Waltham Forest 17.93%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.57%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.76 pts higher than England
School 2.57%
Waltham Forest 1.64%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

94.8% 2.4 pts above England
Holy Family Catholic School
94.8%
Waltham Forest
91.0%
London
91.3%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information