SCHOOL PROFILE

St James' Catholic High School

Secondary Voluntary aided school URN 106142
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 825 Published school capacity
Capacity used 99.9% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 16 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

28 April 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Strong standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

24 February 2022
Ungraded inspection School remains Good
Published 28 April 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

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

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 824 824 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 429 52.1% of pupils
Male pupils 395 47.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

15.2%
9.6 pts below England
School 15.2%
Stockport 20.6%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

9.3%
11.0 pts below England
School 9.3%
Stockport 12.9%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.3%
0.3 pts above England
School 1.3%
Stockport 1.3%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
76.3%
629
Any other White background
5.1%
42
Indian
2.5%
21
Any other Asian background
2.2%
18
Any other Mixed background
2.1%
17
African
1.8%
15
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 13.6% 112 of 824 pupils
7.2 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.6%
Stockport 22.6%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.3% 77 pupils
England 14.8% 5.4 pts below
EHC plans 4.3% 35 pupils
England 6.0% 1.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder 35
Social, emotional & mental health 35
Specific learning difficulty 16
Speech, language & communication 11
No specialist assessment yet 5
Moderate learning difficulty 3

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

51.1 11.9 pts above England
School 51.1
Stockport 33.5
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 46.1% England 36.0% 10.1 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 72.7% England 51.4% 21.3 pts above England
EBacc entry 45.5% England 30.6% 14.9 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.60 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.23 · 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

6.58%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.36 pts higher than England
School 6.58%
Stockport 6.26%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

14.44%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

1.38 pts lower than England
School 14.44%
Stockport 15.60%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.29%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.48 pts higher than England
School 2.29%
Stockport 2.02%
North West 1.75%
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

99.9% 7.6 pts above England
St James' Catholic High School
99.9%
Stockport
94.4%
North West
91.8%
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