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St Paul's Catholic College

Secondary · Burgess Hill · RH15 8GA

Data updated

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Outstanding

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 28 February 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,160 pupils · 110% of 1,050 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
8.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
11.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
16.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.stpaulscatholiccollege.co.uk
URN
148753

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 268 families named it first for 173 Year 7 places, 1.55 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2022 entry went to 1368.17 m (≈0.85 mi); distance decided places in 1 of the 7 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2020 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Outstanding on 28 February 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.55 first-choice applications per place

173 places offered · 268 first-choice applications · heavily oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

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. Places by distance, last offered at 1368.17 m (≈0.85 mi) for 2022 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2022 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1368.17 m (≈0.85 mi)

measured in a straight line.

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

Criterion 11a
2559.34 m (≈1.59 mi)

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
55.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
87.3%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
63.5%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
5.1
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-) B-
36.9
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school55.5
Median of its 12 closest peers49.6
West Sussex average46.6
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
St Oscar Romero Catholic SchoolWorthing · 16 miles awayOutstanding55.1
Oriel High SchoolCrawley · 10 miles awayGood45.4
Davison Church of England High School for Girls, WorthingWorthing · 13 miles awayOutstanding52.1
Ulverston Victoria High SchoolUlverston · 255 miles awayGood46.8
Freman CollegeBuntingford · 68 miles awayGood53.1
Bohunt HorshamHorsham · 11 miles awayGood49.5
Kirkbie Kendal SchoolKendal · 256 miles awayGood50.1
The Costello SchoolBasingstoke · 45 miles awayExpected standard47.3
Chipping Norton SchoolChipping Norton · 90 miles awayGood49.3
St Philip Howard Catholic SchoolBognor Regis · 23 miles awayStrong standard52.5
Denefield SchoolReading · 52 miles awayGood47
The Blue SchoolWells · 110 miles awayGood49.7

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 59% (West Sussex 74%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 9% (West Sussex 2%, England 4%) · Any other White background 8% (West Sussex 7%, England 7%) · Mixed White and Asian 5% (West Sussex 2%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 4% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Black African 3% (West Sussex 2%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (West Sussex 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (West Sussex 1%, England 1%) · White Irish 2% (West Sussex 0%, England 0%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (West Sussex 1%, England 2%) · 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)
5.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
12.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

4.54 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · West Sussex: 16.16 suspensions and 0.17 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
16.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 10% 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)

74.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 3.8 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 £51,199; 8.2% 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£7,484
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (77%) · premises 14% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 3% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 6% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 0% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £735,000; in-year balance -£384,000

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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
98%
Continuing in education
97%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
54%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
31%
Any sustained destination
91%

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)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher45.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications6.5%18.1%
In managerial or professional work50.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways7.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health63%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier72.7%62.3%
Social housing10.8%17.1%
Privately rented16.4%20.5%
Detached houses42.8%22.9%
Flats11.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms39.9%21.1%
Households with no car or van5.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01035352 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£386,000204 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£325,000–£475,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (67)£530,000
Semi-detached (38)£386,000
Terraced (91)£325,000
Flat (8)£367,500

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (1.37 km, 2022 entry): 380 sales, median £375,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

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
1a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
3a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
0a 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