St James' Catholic High School
St James' Way, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, SK8 6PZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Anthony Pontifex
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
- Constituency
- Cheadle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 825
- Pupils on roll
- 824
- URN
- 106142
- Local authority
- Stockport
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01614826900
About this school
St James' Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Cheadle. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 824 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James' Catholic High School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 156 | 158 | 165 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.5 | 52.9 | 51.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.23 0.00 to +0.45 | +0.23 +0.01 to +0.46 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 58.9% | 46.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 76.6% | 72.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 41% | 44.9% | 45.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
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 St James' 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 | Stockport average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.5 | 30.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.9 | 34.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.1 | 34.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 807 |
| 2023/24 | 823 |
| 2024/25 | 824 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' Catholic High School compares
St James' Catholic High School ranked 5th of 13 secondary schools in Stockport for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.1 | 6.6% | 15.3% | 824 | — |
| Cheadle Hulme High School | 60.7 | 5.3% | 11.4% | 1,690 | 0.6 miles |
| Laurus Cheadle Hulme | 54.5 | 7.1% | 19.3% | 1,054 | 1.5 miles |
| Bramhall High School | 51.7 | 6.9% | 18.8% | 1,295 | 2.0 miles |
| The Kingsway School | 46.5 | 8.9% | 26.5% | 1,260 | 2.2 miles |
| Hazel Grove High School | 48.6 | 8.9% | 16.8% | 1,452 | 2.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.29%
- English as an additional language
- 10.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.58%
- Persistent absence
- 14.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cheadle Hulme High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Cheadle
-
Laurus Cheadle Hulme1.5 miles
Secondary · Cheadle
-
Bramhall High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Stockport
-
The Kingsway School2.2 miles
Secondary · Cheadle
-
Hazel Grove High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Stockport
Other schools in Cheadle
- Cheadle Hulme High School Secondary
- Laurus Cheadle Hulme Secondary
- The Kingsway School Secondary
- Bolshaw Primary School Primary
- Bradshaw Hall Primary School Primary
- Cheadle Catholic Infant School Primary
- Cheadle Catholic Junior School Primary
- Cheadle Village Primary School Primary
- Etchells Primary School Primary
- Hursthead Infant School Primary
- Hursthead Junior School Primary
- Ladybridge Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James' Catholic High School teach?
- St James' Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Cheadle.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of St James' Catholic High School is Mr Anthony Pontifex, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James' Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' 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 many pupils are at St James' Catholic High School?
- St James' Catholic High School has 824 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St James' Catholic High School full?
- St James' Catholic High School has capacity for 825 pupils and 824 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St James' Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. St James' Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
- Is St James' Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. St James' Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St James' Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.5 in 2022/23 and 51.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St James' Catholic High School compare with other schools in Stockport?
- St James' Catholic High School ranked 5th of 13 secondary schools in Stockport for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 79% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St James' Catholic High School's absence rate?
- St James' Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' 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 15 July 2026.