St Damian's RC Science College
Lees Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 8BH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Sheldon Logue
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 825
- Pupils on roll
- 829
- URN
- 106270
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01613305974
About this school
St Damian's RC Science College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Ashton-Under-Lyne. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 829 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 7 June 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 174 | 160 | 161 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.3 | 52.8 | 55.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.29 to +0.71 | +0.24 +0.02 to +0.46 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 64% | 66.3% | 60.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 81.3% | 86.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 75% | 77.5% | 72.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 |
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 Damian's RC Science College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54.3 | 42.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.8 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.1 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 837 |
| 2023/24 | 832 |
| 2024/25 | 827 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Damian's RC Science College compares
St Damian's RC Science College ranked 1st of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.1 | 5.2% | 25% | 829 | — |
| Dixons Ashton Academy | 38.1 | 10.9% | 50.1% | 1,326 | 0.4 miles |
| West Hill School | 43.5 | 6.5% | 29.5% | 852 | 1.6 miles |
| The Hathershaw College | 39.3 | 7.6% | 48.9% | 1,034 | 1.7 miles |
| Oasis Academy Leesbrook | 41.5 | 8.1% | 48.8% | 1,349 | 1.8 miles |
| Mossley Hollins High School | — | — | — | 894 | 2.1 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)
- 25.03%
- English as an additional language
- 20.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.21%
- Persistent absence
- 11.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dixons Ashton Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
West Hill School1.6 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
The Hathershaw College1.7 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Oasis Academy Leesbrook1.8 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Mossley Hollins High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
Other schools in Ashton-Under-Lyne
- Dixons Ashton Academy Secondary
- Mossley Hollins High School Secondary
- Ashton West End Primary Academy Primary
- Canon Burrows CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Johnson CofE Primary School Primary
- Holden Clough Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Primary
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Livingstone Primary School Primary
- Micklehurst All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Milton St John's CofE Primary School Primary
- Oasis Academy Broadoak Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Damian's RC Science College teach?
- St Damian's RC Science College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Damian's RC Science College?
- The headteacher of St Damian's RC Science College is Mr Sheldon Logue, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Damian's RC Science College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Damian's RC Science College, 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 St Damian's RC Science College?
- St Damian's RC Science College has 829 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Damian's RC Science College full?
- St Damian's RC Science College has capacity for 825 pupils and 829 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 Damian's RC Science College a faith school?
- Yes. St Damian's RC Science College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Damian's RC Science College a selective school?
- No. St Damian's RC Science College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Damian's RC Science College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.3 in 2022/23 and 55.1 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 Damian's RC Science College rank locally?
- St Damian's RC Science College ranked 1st of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% 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 Damian's RC Science College's absence rate?
- St Damian's RC Science College's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Damian's RC Science College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Damian's RC Science College'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.