Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School
Tongue Lane, Meanwood, Leeds, LS6 4QE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Dominic Kelly
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Constituency
- Leeds North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 916
- URN
- 108095
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01138873240
About this school
Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Leeds. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 916 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Heenan 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 February 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 | 182 | 179 | 175 |
| Attainment 8 score | 55.2 | 59.1 | 58.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.55 +0.34 to +0.76 | +0.66 +0.45 to +0.87 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 68.7% | 73.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 87% | 88.3% | 82.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 58% | 29.6% | 44% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.1 | 5.1 | 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 Cardinal Heenan 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 | Leeds average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55.2 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 59.1 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 917 |
| 2023/24 | 923 |
| 2024/25 | 919 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School compares
Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School ranked 1st of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58 | 5.6% | 18.7% | 916 | — |
| Allerton High School | 54.3 | 7.4% | 22.6% | 1,764 | 0.9 miles |
| Leeds Jewish Free School | 55.2 | 6.5% | 29.1% | 131 | 1.2 miles |
| Lawnswood School | 42.3 | 11.5% | 44.2% | 1,307 | 1.4 miles |
| Leeds City Academy | 38.3 | 10.4% | 57.9% | 1,009 | 1.5 miles |
| Allerton Grange School | 48.2 | 7.2% | 24% | 1,782 | 1.5 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)
- 18.72%
- English as an additional language
- 22.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.64%
- Persistent absence
- 13.46%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Allerton High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Leeds Jewish Free School1.2 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Lawnswood School1.4 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Leeds City Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Allerton Grange School1.5 miles
Secondary · Leeds
Other schools in Leeds
Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School ranks 1st of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leeds.
- Abbey Grange Church of England Academy Secondary
- Allerton Grange School Secondary
- Allerton High School Secondary
- Benton Park School Secondary
- Bishop Young Church of England Academy Secondary
- Bruntcliffe Academy Secondary
- Co-op Academy Leeds Secondary
- Cockburn John Charles Academy Secondary
- Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy Secondary
- Cockburn School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Dixons Unity Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School teach?
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leeds.
- Who is the headteacher of Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is Mr Dominic Kelly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Heenan 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 Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School?
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School has 916 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School full?
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School has capacity for 900 pupils and 916 on roll (102%), 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 Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Is Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 55.2 in 2022/23 and 58 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School compare with other schools in Leeds?
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School ranked 1st of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cardinal Heenan 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.