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St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester

Secondary · Durham · DH7 0RD

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 17 March 2026 · report published 13 May 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,240 pupils · 86% of 1,450 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
22% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://stbedes.durham.sch.uk/
URN
138172

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 205 families named it first for 221 Year 7 places, 0.93 first choices per place. We hold 4 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 17 March 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 7.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.93 first-choice applications per place

221 places offered · 205 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

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. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
44.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
69.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
42.4%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
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+
32.9
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school44.9
Median of its 12 closest peers47.8
County Durham average46.6
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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
The Thomas Adams SchoolShrewsbury · 142 miles awayGood43.4
Midhurst Rother CollegeMidhurst · 269 miles awayOutstanding48.8
Holmfirth High SchoolHolmfirth · 86 miles awayOutstanding58.6
Ridgewood SchoolDoncaster · 92 miles awayGood49.5
Aston AcademySheffield · 102 miles awayExpected standard44.2
Highfields SchoolMatlock · 117 miles awayNo current grade47
Notley High School and Sixth FormBraintree · 226 miles awayExpected standard44.9
Swanmore CollegeSouthampton · 270 miles awayGood49.4
Saint Michael's Catholic High SchoolWatford · 223 miles awayGood50.9
Ribblesdale SchoolClitheroe · 71 miles awayGood43.5
Sir John Leman High SchoolBeccles · 213 miles awayExpected standard44.8
Longsands AcademySt Neots · 190 miles awayGood48.5

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 89% (County Durham 90%, England 59%) · Any other White background 6% (County Durham 2%, England 7%) · Black African 1% (County Durham 1%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (County Durham 1%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 1% (County Durham 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (County Durham 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (County Durham 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 2%

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)
7.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

19.32 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · County Durham: 18.63 suspensions and 0.46 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
15.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

84% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 9% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

73.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 6.6 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 £52,988; 10.1% 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 (2024-25)

This school£8,042
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (6%) · supplies and services 10% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 6% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£110,000; in-year balance +£26,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
95%
Continuing in education
84%
Apprenticeship
8%
Employment
3%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
59%
Apprenticeship
7%
Employment
21%
Any sustained destination
90%

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)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications18.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways17.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health42.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier65.2%62.3%
Social housing23.8%17.1%
Privately rented11%20.5%
Detached houses16.7%22.9%
Flats3.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms15.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van18.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020665 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£192,500105 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£165,000–£270,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (30)£314,000
Semi-detached (38)£200,000
Terraced (26)£168,500
Flat (11)£143,000

Homes around this school are cheaper 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
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
1a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
6a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
3a rural school averages 0.9

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