Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School
Highfield Road, Widnes, WA8 7DW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Louise McComas
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Widnes and Halewood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,677
- Pupils on roll
- 1,337
- URN
- 111457
- Local authority
- Halton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514242139
About this school
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Widnes. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,337 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 July 2022, 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 | 220 | 281 | 215 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.4 | 39.9 | 41.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.62 -0.81 to -0.43 | -0.61 -0.78 to -0.44 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 31.7% | 33% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 55.9% | 61.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 12.1% | 17.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Saints Peter and Paul 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 | Halton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.4 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.9 | 32.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 | 34.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,282 |
| 2023/24 | 1,307 |
| 2024/25 | 1,302 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School compares
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School ranked 4th of 8 secondary schools in Halton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.4 | 10.3% | 42.2% | 1,337 | — |
| Wade Deacon High School | 54 | 6.4% | 27% | 1,658 | 0.3 miles |
| Ormiston Chadwick Academy | 41.2 | 12.4% | 51.9% | 884 | 0.8 miles |
| Rainhill High School | 45.9 | 6% | 18.4% | 1,535 | 2.7 miles |
| The Heath School | 42.5 | 9% | 34.6% | 1,174 | 3.4 miles |
| Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy | 30.2 | 16.2% | 50.2% | 730 | 3.4 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)
- 42.17%
- English as an additional language
- 6.4%
- Overall absence
- 10.34%
- Persistent absence
- 29.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wade Deacon High School0.3 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Ormiston Chadwick Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Rainhill High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Prescot
-
The Heath School3.4 miles
Secondary · Runcorn
-
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Prescot
Other schools in Widnes
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy Secondary
- Wade Deacon High School Secondary
- Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Ditton Nursery School Nursery
- Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Warrington Road Nursery School Nursery
- Birchfield Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cronton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Ditton Primary School Primary
- Fairfield Primary School Primary
- Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Halebank CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery Primary
Recorded changes at this school
Previous headteacher: Mrs Danielle Scott (until July 2026).
- Headteacher changed from Mrs Danielle Scott to Mrs Louise McComas recorded 22 Jul 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School teach?
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Widnes.
- Who is the headteacher of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is Mrs Louise McComas, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saints Peter and Paul 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 big is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School?
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School has 1,337 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School full?
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School has capacity for 1,677 pupils and 1,337 on roll (80%), 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 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School have?
- The schools register lists Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High 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 Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.4 in 2022/23 and 41.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School rank locally?
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School ranked 4th of 8 secondary schools in Halton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 10.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saints Peter and Paul 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 22 July 2026.