Cardinal Newman Catholic School
The Upper Drive, Hove, BN3 6ND
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Ms Claire Jarman
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
- Constituency
- Hove and Portslade
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 2,600
- Pupils on roll
- 2,657
- URN
- 114611
- Local authority
- Brighton and Hove
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01273558551
About this school
Cardinal Newman Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Hove. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 2,657 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Newman 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 359 | 355 | 365 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.8 | 54.4 | 50.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.15 0.00 to +0.30 | +0.56 +0.41 to +0.71 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 60.8% | 47.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 80.8% | 71.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 37% | 34.1% | 34% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
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 Newman 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 | Brighton and Hove average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.8 | 40.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.4 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.4 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,497 |
| 2023/24 | 2,507 |
| 2024/25 | 2,625 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cardinal Newman Catholic School compares
Cardinal Newman Catholic School ranked 4th of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.4 | 9.3% | 21.1% | 2,657 | — |
| Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre | 41.1 | 13.6% | 36.5% | 941 | 1.0 miles |
| Dorothy Stringer School | 53.3 | 10.8% | 24% | 1,626 | 1.0 miles |
| Blatchington Mill School | 51 | 11.4% | 21.3% | 1,622 | 1.2 miles |
| Varndean School | 48.8 | 9.2% | 20.5% | 1,487 | 1.3 miles |
| Patcham High School | 45.5 | 8.2% | 24.3% | 1,074 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.14%
- English as an additional language
- 22.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.31%
- Persistent absence
- 24.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre1.0 miles
Secondary · Hove
-
Dorothy Stringer School1.0 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Blatchington Mill School1.2 miles
Secondary · Hove
-
Varndean School1.3 miles
Secondary · Brighton
-
Patcham High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Brighton
Other schools in Hove
- Blatchington Mill School Secondary
- Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre Secondary
- King's School Secondary
- Aldrington CofE Primary School Primary
- Brunswick Primary School Primary
- Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Goldstone Primary School Primary
- Hangleton Primary School Primary
- Hove Junior School Primary
- St Andrew's CofE (Aided) Primary School Primary
- West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School Primary
- West Hove Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Cardinal Newman Catholic School teach?
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Hove.
- Who is the headteacher of Cardinal Newman Catholic School?
- The headteacher of Cardinal Newman Catholic School is Ms Claire Jarman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cardinal Newman Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Newman 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 Cardinal Newman Catholic School?
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School has 2,657 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cardinal Newman Catholic School full?
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School has capacity for 2,600 pupils and 2,657 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 Newman Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. Cardinal Newman Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
- Is Cardinal Newman Catholic School a selective school?
- No. Cardinal Newman Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Cardinal Newman Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.8 in 2022/23 and 50.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cardinal Newman Catholic School compare with other schools in Brighton and Hove?
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School ranked 4th of 10 secondary schools in Brighton and Hove for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% 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 Newman Catholic School's absence rate?
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cardinal Newman Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cardinal Newman 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 30 June 2026.