SCHOOL PROFILE

St Alban's Catholic High School

Secondary Academy converter URN 137849
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,020 Published school capacity
Capacity used 94.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

24 April 2025
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

21 January 2020
Graded inspection Good
Published 23 February 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Suffolk
Trust OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 967 967 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 514 53.2% of pupils
Male pupils 453 46.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

19.2%
5.6 pts below England
School 19.2%
Ipswich 25.2%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

40.5%
20.2 pts above England
School 40.5%
Ipswich 25.1%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

4.1%
3.1 pts above England
School 4.1%
Ipswich 2.1%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
35.9%
347
Any other White background
18.7%
181
Any other Mixed background
11.9%
115
Indian
9.1%
88
African
8.5%
82
Any other ethnic group
2.9%
28
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 13.0% 126 of 967 pupils
7.8 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.0%
Ipswich 20.0%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.0% 97 pupils
England 14.8% 4.8 pts below
EHC plans 3.0% 29 pupils
England 6.0% 3.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 46
Specific learning difficulty 27
Speech, language & communication 16
Autistic spectrum disorder 15
Moderate learning difficulty 10
Other difficulty or disability 4

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

46.9 7.7 pts above England
School 46.9
Ipswich 34.0
East of England 40.4
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 41.6% England 36.0% 5.6 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 65.3% England 51.4% 13.9 pts above England
EBacc entry 22.5% England 30.6% 8.1 pts below England
EBacc average point score 3.99 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.13 · 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

8.06%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.85 pts higher than England
School 8.06%
Ipswich 7.15%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

22.62%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

6.80 pts higher than England
School 22.62%
Ipswich 18.95%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.91%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.11 pts higher than England
School 2.91%
Ipswich 2.65%
East of England 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

94.8% 2.5 pts above England
St Alban's Catholic High School
94.8%
Ipswich
90.4%
East of England
92.9%
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