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St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy

Secondary · Wallasey · CH45 3LN

Data updated

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Needs attention

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: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Expected standard

Inspected 27 January 2026 · report published 23 March 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,073 pupils · 83% of 1,300 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
47.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
3.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.stmaryswallasey.com
URN
143554

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 160 families named it first for 168 Year 7 places, 0.95 first choices per place. We hold one Year 7 admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 27 January 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.95 first-choice applications per place

168 places offered · 160 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. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
33.2
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
34.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
17.2%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
2.5
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-) D+
22.6
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school33.2
Median of its 12 closest peers37.8
Wirral average47.4
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
NCEA Duke's Secondary SchoolAshington · 136 miles awayNeeds attention32
Astrea Academy DearneRotherham · 73 miles awayGood40.2
Turner Free SchoolFolkestone · 240 miles awayGood37.6
David Nieper AcademyAlfreton · 73 miles awayGood41
Brownhills Ormiston AcademyWalsall · 71 miles awayNo current grade37.1
King's Academy Brune ParkGosport · 198 miles awayInadequate33
Laurus RyecroftManchester · 39 miles awayOutstanding51.6
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary AcademyEllesmere Port · 12 miles awayNeeds attention36.9
Chantry AcademyIpswich · 200 miles awayGood33.9
Lees Brook AcademyDerby · 76 miles awayGood41.5
Halewood AcademyKnowsley · 10 miles awayExpected standard41.6
Lift WintonAndover · 167 miles awayGood37.9

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
26 of 26 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)

White British 92% (Wirral 81%, England 59%) · Any other White background 3% (Wirral 3%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Wirral 1%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Wirral 1%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (Wirral 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Wirral 1%, England 2%) · other groups together 3%

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)
11.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
32.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

48.40 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Wirral: 12.89 suspensions and 0.18 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
15.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

78% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 13% 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)

78.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 11.5 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 £52,441; 13.9% 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£9,342
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 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 12% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£658,000; in-year balance -£292,000

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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
86%
Continuing in education
77%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
44%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
25%
Any sustained destination
82%

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)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher26.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications19.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.7%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways26.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health42.4%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier57.1%62.3%
Social housing17.5%17.1%
Privately rented25.3%20.5%
Detached houses10.4%22.9%
Flats33.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms19.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van34.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01007313 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£250,000529 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£192,500–£307,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (58)£325,000
Semi-detached (356)£265,000
Terraced (61)£210,000
Flat (54)£120,000

Homes around this school are cheaper 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
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
22an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an 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