SCHOOL PROFILE

Our Lady's Catholic College

Secondary Voluntary aided school URN 119798
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,148 Published school capacity
Capacity used 85.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

26 March 2024
Latest published outcome Requires improvement
OEIF
Quality of education Requires improvement
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 Lancashire
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 981 981 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 501 51.1% of pupils
Male pupils 480 48.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

38.6%
13.8 pts above England
School 38.6%
Lancaster 25.2%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

15.6%
4.7 pts below England
School 15.6%
Lancaster 10.2%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Lancaster 0.0%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
69.7%
684
Any other White background
8.0%
78
Any other Asian background
4.4%
43
African
4.2%
41
Unclassified
4.1%
40
Any other ethnic group
3.0%
29
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 23.5% 230 of 981 pupils
2.6 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.5%
Lancaster 22.5%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 20.8% 204 pupils
England 14.8% 6.0 pts above
EHC plans 2.7% 26 pupils
England 6.0% 3.4 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 75
Moderate learning difficulty 52
Speech, language & communication 37
Autistic spectrum disorder 27
Specific learning difficulty 13
Physical disability 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

41.3 2.1 pts above England
School 41.3
Lancaster 40.0
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 34.8% England 36.0% 1.2 pts below England
English & maths grade 4+ 59.4% England 51.4% 8.0 pts above England
EBacc entry 8.4% England 30.6% 22.2 pts below England
EBacc average point score 3.31 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: -0.51 · 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

11.63%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

5.41 pts higher than England
School 11.63%
Lancaster 6.05%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

34.86%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

19.05 pts higher than England
School 34.86%
Lancaster 15.24%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

6.16%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

4.35 pts higher than England
School 6.16%
Lancaster 1.38%
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

85.5% 6.9 pts below England
Our Lady's Catholic College
85.5%
Lancaster
93.5%
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