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St Columba's Catholic Boys' School

Secondary · Bexleyheath · DA6 7QB

Data updated

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No current grade

Ungraded inspection: no current grade

Ofsted's most recent visit was an ungraded inspection; its outcome was “Standards maintained”. Since September 2024 these outcomes no longer confirm a named grade. No graded inspection appears in Ofsted's records for this school since 2015 either, so SchoolFacts shows no grade rather than guessing. Any earlier grade is on the school's Ofsted report page.

Inspected 27 November 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

805 pupils · 89% of 900 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Boys
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
24% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
22.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://www.st-columbas.co.uk/
URN
138650

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 84 families named it first for 159 Year 7 places, 0.53 first choices per place. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.53 first-choice applications per place

159 places offered · 84 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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

158 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
75.3%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
53.2%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.4
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 school51.4
Median of its 12 closest peers47.8
Bexley average51
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
Saint Gregory's Catholic CollegeBath · 110 miles awayGood46.6
Priory AcademyDunstable · 41 miles awayGood46.2
Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England CollegeHeywood · 178 miles awayExpected standard43.4
Newmarket AcademyNewmarket · 56 miles awayGood45.9
Breckland SchoolBrandon · 71 miles awayGood42.4
Gartree High SchoolLeicester · 94 miles awayGood54
Yate AcademyYate · 111 miles awayStrong standard54.8
The Royal Liberty SchoolRomford · 10 miles awayGood51
St Augustine's Catholic School - a Catholic voluntary academyScarborough · 196 miles awayGood48.9
Bishop Milner Catholic CollegeDudley · 121 miles awayGood45.9
Northwood SchoolNorthwood · 26 miles awayOutstanding (2018)58.4
Harris Academy RainhamRainham · 5 miles awayGood (2019)50.4

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

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
30 of 30 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 47% (Bexley 18%, England 5%) · White British 17% (Bexley 40%, England 59%) · Any other Asian background 7% (Bexley 5%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 6% (Bexley 2%, England 1%) · Any other White background 4% (Bexley 8%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 4% (Bexley 6%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Bexley 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Bexley 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Bexley 2%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Bexley 1%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 2% (Bexley 2%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Bexley 5%, England 3%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Bexley 1%, England 2%) · 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)
6.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
16.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

14.96 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Bexley: 13.70 suspensions and 0.13 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

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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
16.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

82% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% 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)

78% of teachers took sickness absence, 14.3 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 £59,830; 18% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£9,401
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £698,000; in-year balance -£1,000

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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
93%
Continuing in education
90%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

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)
5/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33.2%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work36.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15%18.1%
Residents in very good health51.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier70.1%62.3%
Social housing14%17.1%
Privately rented15.9%20.5%
Detached houses4.9%22.9%
Flats25.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms19.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van20.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01000329 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£409,000426 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£290,000–£495,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (19)£625,000
Semi-detached (147)£494,500
Terraced (87)£425,000
Flat (173)£278,000

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
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
14an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
59an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
8an 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