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St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy

Secondary · Leicester · LE5 6HN

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 25 January 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,167 pupils · 102% of 1,142 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
19% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
49.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.st-pauls.leicester.sch.uk/
URN
146232

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 216 families named it first for 184 Year 7 places, 1.17 first choices per place. We hold 2 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 25 January 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.17 first-choice applications per place

184 places offered · 216 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

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)

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

Attainment 8 score
54.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
77.6%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
57.4%
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.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) B-
35.7
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school54.5
Median of its 12 closest peers51.7
Leicester average47.5
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
English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary AcademyLeicester · 4 miles awayGood54
All Saints' Catholic Voluntary AcademyMansfield · 37 miles awayGood51.6
Malcolm Arnold AcademyNorthampton · 27 miles awayGood41.4
Isleworth and Syon School for BoysIsleworth · 85 miles awayGood43.1
St Mark's Catholic SchoolHounslow · 85 miles awayOutstanding62.5
The Green School for GirlsIsleworth · 86 miles awayGood52.5
Queen Elizabeth SchoolLuton · 59 miles awayNeeds attention39.9
St Gregory's Catholic Science CollegeHarrow · 79 miles awayOutstanding (2019)60.6
St Thomas Becket Catholic SchoolNorthampton · 26 miles awayGood38.7
Baylis Court SchoolSlough · 79 miles awayStrong standard51.7
Saint George Catholic Voluntary Aided College SouthamptonSouthampton · 117 miles awayOutstanding60
Lift BexleyheathBexleyheath · 96 miles awayExpected standard41.1

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 28% (Leicester 18%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 24% (Leicester 35%, England 4%) · Black African 14% (Leicester 9%, England 5%) · Any other White background 6% (Leicester 7%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 6% (Leicester 6%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 4% (Leicester 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 4% (Leicester 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Leicester 2%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 2% (Leicester 1%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Leicester 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Leicester 3%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Leicester 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Leicester 2%, England 1%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Leicester 3%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Leicester 3%, England 3%) · other groups together 0%

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)
6.5%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

5.77 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Leicester: 18.21 suspensions and 0.10 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
22.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

81% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 12% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

3.67% 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)

67.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.1 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 £53,936; 6.3% 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£7,132
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£796,000; in-year balance -£59,000

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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
95%
Continuing in education
92%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
65%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
15%
Any sustained destination
86%

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 higher32%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications24.7%18.1%
In managerial or professional work30.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways15.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.1%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier85.3%62.3%
Social housing4.3%17.1%
Privately rented10.4%20.5%
Detached houses57.5%22.9%
Flats0.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms37.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van16.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01013672 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£315,000200 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£260,000–£375,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (72)£364,000
Semi-detached (91)£300,000
Terraced (29)£250,000
Flat (8)£124,000

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
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
9an 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