SCHOOL PROFILE

St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College

Secondary Academy converter URN 137702
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,400 Published school capacity
Capacity used 87.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

9 May 2024
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority County Durham
Trust BISHOP HOGARTH CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,229 1,229 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 688 56.0% of pupils
Male pupils 541 44.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

28.2%
3.4 pts above England
School 28.2%
County Durham 32.2%
North East 32.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

4.6%
15.7 pts below England
School 4.6%
County Durham 4.7%
North East 10.0%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.2%
0.2 pts above England
School 1.2%
County Durham 0.5%
North East 0.9%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
88.0%
1,081
Any other White background
3.8%
47
African
2.0%
24
Indian
0.8%
10
White and Asian
0.8%
10
Any other Mixed background
0.7%
9
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 11.6% 142 of 1,229 pupils
9.3 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 11.6%
County Durham 22.4%
North East 22.6%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.3% 126 pupils
England 14.8% 4.5 pts below
EHC plans 1.3% 16 pupils
England 6.0% 4.7 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 41
Moderate learning difficulty 29
Autistic spectrum disorder 20
Specific learning difficulty 16
No specialist assessment yet 13
Other difficulty or disability 9

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

46.4 7.2 pts above England
School 46.4
County Durham 38.9
North East 36.8
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 41.3% England 36.0% 5.3 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 68.9% England 51.4% 17.5 pts above England
EBacc entry 11.7% England 30.6% 18.9 pts below England
EBacc average point score 3.77 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.16 · 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

8.50%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.28 pts higher than England
School 8.50%
County Durham 6.04%
North East 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

26.86%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

11.05 pts higher than England
School 26.86%
County Durham 15.78%
North East 16.04%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.77%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.97 pts higher than England
School 3.77%
County Durham 1.43%
North East 1.83%
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

87.8% 4.5 pts below England
St John's Catholic School & Sixth Form College
87.8%
County Durham
86.8%
North East
87.2%
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