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St James' Catholic High School

Secondary · London · NW9 5PE

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Expected standard

Inspected 21 April 2026 · report published 7 September 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,243 pupils · 89% of 1,400 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
32.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
64.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.st-james.barnet.sch.uk
URN
101364

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 135 families named it first for 210 Year 7 places, 0.64 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2024 entry went to 1.187 miles; distance decided places in 3 of the 11 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2015 to 2025. At its report-card inspection on 21 April 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.64 first-choice applications per place

210 places offered · 135 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2024 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1.187 miles

measurement method not stated by the council.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

206 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
51.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
74.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
55.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.7
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
32.7
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school51.4
Median of its 12 closest peers44.2
Barnet average58.2
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Rooks Heath SchoolHarrow · 6 miles awayGood40.7
All Saints Catholic School and Technology CollegeDagenham · 17 miles awayOutstanding56.1
Challney High School for BoysLuton · 23 miles awayOutstanding47.7
Sir John Thursby Community CollegeBurnley · 173 miles awayGood41
The Stockwood Park AcademyLuton · 20 miles awayGood35.9
King's Leadership Academy BoltonBolton · 164 miles awayGood45.4
Whitefriars SchoolHarrow · 4 miles awayGood43
Grove AcademySlough · 17 miles awayNeeds attention41.1
Goresbrook SchoolDagenham · 17 miles awayOutstanding55.6
Rivers Academy West LondonFeltham · 13 miles awayOutstanding54.9
George Salter AcademyWest Bromwich · 99 miles awayGood39.6
Greatfields SchoolBarking · 15 miles awayGood (2019)45.6

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Any other White background 35% (Barnet 20%, England 7%) · Black African 17% (Barnet 8%, England 5%) · White British 14% (Barnet 23%, England 59%) · Any other Asian background 7% (Barnet 4%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 6% (Barnet 12%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 3% (Barnet 2%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 3% (Barnet 8%, England 4%) · Black Caribbean 3% (Barnet 2%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Barnet 7%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 3% (Barnet 1%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 2% (Barnet 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Barnet 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Barnet 3%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Barnet 2%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
18.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

8.61 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Barnet: 9.29 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
18.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

74% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 17% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 1.25% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

74.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 7.1 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,937; 11.4% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,663
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (77%) · premises 4% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (7%) · supplies and services 10% (10%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 4% (2%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £444,862; in-year balance +£66,888

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
96%
Continuing in education
91%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
64%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
9%
Any sustained destination
83%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications26%18.1%
In managerial or professional work15.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways36%18.1%
Residents in very good health53.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier10.4%62.3%
Social housing72.8%17.1%
Privately rented16%20.5%
Detached houses2.6%22.9%
Flats76.3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van50.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01000151 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£423,000607 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£346,000–£540,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (10)£877,500
Semi-detached (47)£625,000
Terraced (60)£475,000
Flat (490)£395,000

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
12an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
61an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
10an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools