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St James' Catholic High School

Secondary · Cheadle · SK8 6PZ

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: Strong standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 28 April 2026 · report published 21 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

824 pupils · 100% of 825 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
15.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
10.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
7.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.stjamescheadle.co.uk
URN
106142

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 165 families named it first for 155 Year 7 places, 1.06 first choices per place. At its report-card inspection on 28 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 6.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.06 first-choice applications per place

155 places offered · 165 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
51.1
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
72.7%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
46.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.6
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.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school51.1
Median of its 12 closest peers51.9
Stockport average47.3
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with 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
Linton Village CollegeCambridge · 135 miles awayGood52.4
Penwortham Girls' High SchoolPreston · 35 miles awayOutstanding52.9
Madeley High SchoolCrewe · 25 miles awayNo current grade49.5
Broughton High SchoolPreston · 38 miles awayOutstanding59.3
Our Lady's Catholic High SchoolPreston · 36 miles awayGood50
Debenham High SchoolStowmarket · 161 miles awayGood55.7
The Woodroffe SchoolLyme Regis · 184 miles awayGood51.4
Healing AcademyGrimsby · 85 miles awayGood51
Cedars Upper SchoolLeighton Buzzard · 119 miles awayGood48.5
John Flamsteed Community SchoolRipley · 40 miles awayGood53.3
Biddulph High SchoolStoke-on-Trent · 18 miles awayNeeds attention43.3
Testbourne Community SchoolWhitchurch · 152 miles awayGood53.3

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 76% (Stockport 74%, England 59%) · Any other White background 5% (Stockport 3%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 2% (Stockport 1%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Stockport 2%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Stockport 2%, England 3%) · Black African 2% (Stockport 2%, England 5%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Stockport 2%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Stockport 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Stockport 1%, England 1%) · White Irish 1% (Stockport 0%, England 0%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Stockport 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Stockport 2%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 1% (Stockport 0%, England 1%) · 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)
6.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

8.13 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Stockport: 20.45 suspensions and 0.38 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
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

93% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 4% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

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

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

79.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 6.3 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 £54,278; 10.4% 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£7,991
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 4% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (7%) · supplies and services 11% (10%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £529,240; in-year balance -£27,553

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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
95%
Continuing in education
88%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
3%

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)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher40.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications13%18.1%
In managerial or professional work41.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways13.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health51.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier80.1%62.3%
Social housing4.3%17.1%
Privately rented15.5%20.5%
Detached houses11.5%22.9%
Flats16.3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms22.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van13.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01005793 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£404,000184 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£340,000–£525,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (37)£600,000
Semi-detached (103)£394,500
Terraced (29)£390,000
Flat (15)£185,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most 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
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
12an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an 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