St Mary's RC High School
Lugwardine, Hereford, HR1 4DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Stuart Wetson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Cardiff
- Constituency
- North Herefordshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 675
- Pupils on roll
- 745
- URN
- 116992
- Local authority
- Herefordshire, County of
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01432850416
About this school
St Mary's RC High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Hereford. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 745 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 11 December 2024, 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 | 147 | 150 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.2 | 51.7 | 52.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.14 -0.10 to +0.37 | +0.10 -0.14 to +0.33 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 62.7% | 59.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 79% | 78% | 79.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 56% | 55.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
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 Mary's RC 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 | Herefordshire, County of average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.2 | 39.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.7 | 38.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.2 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 748 |
| 2023/24 | 748 |
| 2024/25 | 749 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's RC High School compares
St Mary's RC High School ranked 1st of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.2 | 5.1% | 11.2% | 745 | — |
| The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School | 45.9 | 8.6% | 14.7% | 1,089 | 1.1 miles |
| Aylestone School | 36.3 | 8.6% | 28.7% | 443 | 1.5 miles |
| The Hereford Church of England Academy | 39.6 | 9% | 39.8% | 647 | 3.5 miles |
| Whitecross Hereford | 46.5 | 7.4% | 15.7% | 942 | 3.6 miles |
| Kingstone High School | 42.3 | 11.1% | 26.7% | 568 | 8.5 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)
- 11.21%
- English as an additional language
- 25.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.12%
- Persistent absence
- 11.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School1.1 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
Aylestone School1.5 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
The Hereford Church of England Academy3.5 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
Whitecross Hereford3.6 miles
Secondary · Hereford
-
Kingstone High School8.5 miles
Secondary · Hereford
Other schools in Hereford
St Mary's RC High School ranks 1st of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Hereford.
- Aylestone School Secondary
- Fairfield High School Secondary
- Kingstone High School Secondary
- The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School Secondary
- The Hereford Church of England Academy Secondary
- Weobley High School Secondary
- Whitecross Hereford Secondary
- Almeley Primary School Primary
- Broadlands Primary School Primary
- Burghill Community Academy Primary
- Burley Gate CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Pyon CofE Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's RC High School teach?
- St Mary's RC High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Hereford.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's RC High School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's RC High School is Mr Stuart Wetson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's RC High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's RC 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 St Mary's RC High School?
- St Mary's RC High School has 745 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Mary's RC High School full?
- St Mary's RC High School has capacity for 675 pupils and 745 on roll (110%), 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 Mary's RC High School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's RC High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Cardiff.
- Is St Mary's RC High School a selective school?
- No. St Mary's RC High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Mary's RC High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.2 in 2022/23 and 52.2 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 Mary's RC High School rank locally?
- St Mary's RC High School ranked 1st of 15 secondary schools in Herefordshire, County of for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% 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 Mary's RC High School's absence rate?
- St Mary's RC High School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's RC High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's RC 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 30 June 2026.