Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School
Fawley Road, Southcote, Reading, RG30 3EP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headmaster
- Dr Simon Uttley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portsmouth (rc)
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Reading Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 922
- Pupils on roll
- 1,082
- URN
- 110107
- Local authority
- Reading
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189574730
About this school
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Reading. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,082 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic 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 14 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 | 153 | 179 | 186 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.9 | 44.4 | 46.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.12 -0.11 to +0.35 | -0.02 -0.24 to +0.20 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 42.5% | 39.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 61.5% | 64% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 39.7% | 42.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
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 Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic 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 | Reading average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.9 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46 | 44.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 994 |
| 2023/24 | 1,022 |
| 2024/25 | 1,045 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School compares
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School ranked 5th of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46 | 7.5% | 21.3% | 1,082 | — |
| The WREN School | 44.8 | 8.3% | 29.1% | 931 | 0.2 miles |
| King's Academy Prospect | 36.8 | 9.5% | 39.7% | 1,157 | 0.6 miles |
| River Academy | — | 5.1% | 29% | 373 | 1.5 miles |
| Kendrick School | 84 | 4.9% | 9.2% | 939 | 1.8 miles |
| Reading Girls' School | 51.8 | 8% | 28.3% | 905 | 1.9 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)
- 21.26%
- English as an additional language
- 38.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.47%
- Persistent absence
- 20.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The WREN School0.2 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
King's Academy Prospect0.6 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
River Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Kendrick School1.8 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Reading Girls' School1.9 miles
Secondary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School ranks 13th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Reading.
- Denefield School Secondary
- Hartland High School Secondary
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- Kendrick School Secondary
- King's Academy Prospect Secondary
- Langtree School Secondary
- Little Heath School Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh School Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh School in Reading Secondary
- Oakbank School Secondary
- Reading Girls' School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School teach?
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Reading.
- Who is the headmaster of Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School?
- The headmaster of Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is Dr Simon Uttley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic 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 Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School?
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School has 1,082 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School full?
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School has capacity for 922 pupils and 1,082 on roll (117%), 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 Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Portsmouth (rc).
- Is Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School a selective school?
- No. Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School have?
- The schools register lists Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.9 in 2022/23 and 46 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School compare with other schools in Reading?
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School ranked 5th of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School's absence rate?
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic 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.