St Paul's Catholic School
Phoenix Drive, Leadenhall, Milton Keynes, MK6 5EN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jo-Anne Hoarty
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Northampton
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Milton Keynes Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,891
- Pupils on roll
- 1,890
- URN
- 110517
- Local authority
- Milton Keynes
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01908669735
About this school
St Paul's Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Milton Keynes. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,890 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 May 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 282 | 300 | 306 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.9 | 47.0 | 44.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.04 -0.21 to +0.13 | +0.03 -0.14 to +0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 34% | 44% | 37.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 65.3% | 61.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 88% | 86% | 86.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.3 | 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 St Paul's 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 | Milton Keynes average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.9 | 43.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47 | 43.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.9 | 44.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,861 |
| 2023/24 | 1,848 |
| 2024/25 | 1,886 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's Catholic School compares
St Paul's Catholic School ranked 9th of 14 secondary schools in Milton Keynes for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.9 | 6.8% | 29% | 1,890 | — |
| The Milton Keynes Academy | 40.8 | 8.7% | 48.2% | 923 | 0.2 miles |
| Denbigh School | 54.3 | 6.4% | 19.3% | 1,778 | 1.6 miles |
| Lord Grey Academy | 40.4 | 8.9% | 34.7% | 1,446 | 1.9 miles |
| Shenley Brook End School | 45.4 | 8.3% | 20.6% | 1,845 | 2.0 miles |
| The Hazeley Academy | 45.4 | 7.4% | 19% | 1,594 | 2.5 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)
- 29.04%
- English as an additional language
- 61.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.82%
- Persistent absence
- 17.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Milton Keynes Academy0.2 miles
Secondary · Milton Keynes
-
Denbigh School1.6 miles
Secondary · Milton Keynes
-
Lord Grey Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Milton Keynes
-
Shenley Brook End School2.0 miles
Secondary · Milton Keynes
-
The Hazeley Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Milton Keynes
Other schools in Milton Keynes
St Paul's Catholic School ranks 8th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Milton Keynes.
- Denbigh School Secondary
- Fulbrook School Secondary
- Lift Sir Herbert Leon Secondary
- Lord Grey Academy Secondary
- Shenley Brook End School Secondary
- Stantonbury School Secondary
- The Hazeley Academy Secondary
- The Milton Keynes Academy Secondary
- The Radcliffe School Secondary
- Walton High Secondary
- Watling Academy Secondary
- Knowles Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does St Paul's Catholic School teach?
- St Paul's Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Milton Keynes.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's Catholic School?
- The headteacher of St Paul's Catholic School is Mrs Jo-Anne Hoarty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Paul's Catholic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's 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 big is St Paul's Catholic School?
- St Paul's Catholic School has 1,890 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is St Paul's Catholic School full?
- St Paul's Catholic School has capacity for 1,891 pupils and 1,890 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 Paul's Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Northampton.
- Is St Paul's Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St Paul's Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does St Paul's Catholic School have?
- The schools register lists St Paul's Catholic School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Paul's Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.9 in 2022/23 and 44.9 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 Paul's Catholic School rank locally?
- St Paul's Catholic School ranked 9th of 14 secondary schools in Milton Keynes for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% 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 Paul's Catholic School's absence rate?
- St Paul's Catholic School's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's 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.