SCHOOL PROFILE

Blessed William Howard Catholic School

Secondary Academy converter URN 142193
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,065 Published school capacity
Capacity used 89.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

22 May 2024
Latest published outcome School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Staffordshire
Trust ST GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 950 950 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 469 49.4% of pupils
Male pupils 481 50.6% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

22.2%
2.6 pts below England
School 22.2%
Stafford 18.1%
West Midlands 30.6%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

14.0%
6.3 pts below England
School 14.0%
Stafford 8.2%
West Midlands 22.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.6%
0.4 pts below England
School 0.6%
Stafford 0.4%
West Midlands 0.6%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
71.6%
680
Any other White background
9.6%
91
African
5.6%
53
Indian
2.4%
23
Any other Asian background
2.1%
20
Any other ethnic group
1.9%
18
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 15.9% 151 of 950 pupils
4.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.9%
Stafford 20.1%
West Midlands 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 11.7% 111 pupils
England 14.8% 3.1 pts below
EHC plans 4.2% 40 pupils
England 6.0% 1.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Moderate learning difficulty 47
Social, emotional & mental health 39
Speech, language & communication 34
Autistic spectrum disorder 12
Specific learning difficulty 10
Multi-sensory impairment 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

52.0 12.8 pts above England
School 52.0
Stafford 35.5
West Midlands 38.3
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 52.4% England 36.0% 16.4 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 75.0% England 51.4% 23.6 pts above England
EBacc entry 73.8% England 30.6% 43.2 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.67 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.41 · 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

6.25%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.03 pts higher than England
School 6.25%
Stafford 5.35%
West Midlands 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

16.15%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

0.33 pts higher than England
School 16.15%
Stafford 11.61%
West Midlands 16.42%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.56%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.76 pts higher than England
School 3.56%
Stafford 1.46%
West Midlands 1.82%
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

89.2% 3.1 pts below England
Blessed William Howard Catholic School
89.2%
Stafford
86.1%
West Midlands
94.1%
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