St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa
Church Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, LS23 6DF
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Non-maintained special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Kevin Harrington
- Religious ethos
- Catholic
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
- Constituency
- Wetherby and Easingwold
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 89
- URN
- 108120
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01937842144
About this school
St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa is a special school in Wetherby. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 89 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | 1.1 | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | 0% | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | 0.1 | - |
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 John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56 |
| 2023/24 | 75 |
| 2024/25 | 82 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.23%
- English as an additional language
- 3.7%
- Overall absence
- 15.84%
- Persistent absence
- 27.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Gateways School6.5 miles
Independent schools · Leeds
-
The Grammar School At Leeds7.3 miles
Independent schools · Leeds
-
John Jamieson School7.9 miles
Special schools · Leeds
-
Leeds Menorah School8.3 miles
Independent schools · Leeds
-
The Pivot Academy LS East8.5 miles
Special schools · Leeds
Other schools in Wetherby
- Bramham Primary School Primary
- Collingham Lady Elizabeth Hastings Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Crossley Street Primary School Primary
- Deighton Gates Primary School Primary
- Lady Elizabeth Hastings' CofE VA Primary School, Thorp Arch Primary
- Primrose Lane Primary School Primary
- Sicklinghall Community Primary School Primary
- St Edward's Catholic Primary School, Boston Spa Primary
- St James' Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wetherby Primary
- Boston Spa Academy Secondary
- Wetherby High School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa teach?
- St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Wetherby.
- Who is the headteacher of St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa?
- The headteacher of St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa is Mr Kevin Harrington, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa, 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 John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa?
- St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa has 89 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa full?
- St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa has capacity for 105 pupils and 89 on roll (85%), so it has space against 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 John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa a faith school?
- No. St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa have?
- The schools register lists St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa's absence rate?
- St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa's overall absence rate is 15.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa'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.