Finchley Catholic High School
Woodside Lane, Finchley, London, N12 8TA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Ciran Stapleton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Chipping Barnet
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,172
- URN
- 101362
- Local authority
- Barnet
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02084450105
About this school
Finchley Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic boys' voluntary aided secondary school in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,172 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 September 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 177 | 177 | 173 |
| Attainment 8 score | 62.2 | 63.2 | 62.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.17 +0.96 to +1.38 | +0.94 +0.73 to +1.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 76% | 77.4% | 78.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 91% | 88.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 46% | 45.2% | 17.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.2 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Finchley Catholic High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnet average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 62.2 | 47.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 63.2 | 49.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 62.3 | 46.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,188 |
| 2023/24 | 1,198 |
| 2024/25 | 1,192 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Finchley Catholic High School compares
Finchley Catholic High School ranked 6th of 27 secondary schools in Barnet for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62.3 | 5.7% | 17% | 1,172 | — |
| St Michael's Catholic Grammar School | 77.8 | 6.2% | 11.6% | 908 | 0.6 miles |
| The Compton School | 54.8 | 5.7% | 34.4% | 1,381 | 1.2 miles |
| St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School | 51.6 | 7.6% | 30.7% | 554 | 1.2 miles |
| Friern Barnet School | 44.8 | 8.8% | 42% | 591 | 1.2 miles |
| The Totteridge Academy | 58.2 | 8.2% | 32.3% | 1,008 | 1.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.03%
- English as an additional language
- 22.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.74%
- Persistent absence
- 11.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael's Catholic Grammar School0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Compton School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Friern Barnet School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Totteridge Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Finchley Catholic High School ranks 23rd of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Finchley Catholic High School teach?
- Finchley Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Finchley Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Finchley Catholic High School is Mr Ciran Stapleton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Finchley Catholic High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Finchley Catholic High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Finchley Catholic High School?
- Finchley Catholic High School has 1,172 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Finchley Catholic High School full?
- Finchley Catholic High School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,172 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Finchley Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Finchley Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is Finchley Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Finchley Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Finchley Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 62.2 in 2022/23 and 62.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Finchley Catholic High School rank locally?
- Finchley Catholic High School ranked 6th of 27 secondary schools in Barnet for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 95% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Finchley Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Finchley Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Finchley Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Finchley Catholic High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.