Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School
Station Road, Bamber Bridge, Preston, PR5 6PB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Oddie
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 800
- Pupils on roll
- 772
- URN
- 119784
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772339813
About this school
Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 772 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
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 | 149 | 133 | 145 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 44.1 | 46.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.22 to +0.24 | +0.03 -0.22 to +0.27 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 45.9% | 40.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 63.2% | 64.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 12% | 35.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.8 | 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 Brownedge St Mary's 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.8 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.1 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.1 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 746 |
| 2023/24 | 742 |
| 2024/25 | 760 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School compares
Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School ranked 33rd of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.1 | 7.4% | 23.3% | 772 | — |
| Walton-Le-Dale High School | 33.1 | 12.5% | 36.5% | 688 | 0.4 miles |
| Lostock Hall Academy | 47.6 | 7.2% | 18.1% | 759 | 0.9 miles |
| Christ The King Catholic High School | 35.9 | 9.2% | 46.4% | 446 | 1.7 miles |
| Eden Boys' School, Preston | 49.8 | 4.3% | 26.1% | 615 | 2.1 miles |
| Preston Muslim Girls High School | 56.2 | 4.9% | 23.5% | 607 | 2.6 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)
- 23.29%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.38%
- Persistent absence
- 17.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Walton-Le-Dale High School0.4 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Lostock Hall Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Christ The King Catholic High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Eden Boys' School, Preston2.1 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Preston Muslim Girls High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School ranks 13th of the 22 ranked secondary schools in Preston.
- All Hallows Catholic High School Secondary
- Archbishop Temple Church of England High School Secondary
- Ashton Community Science College Secondary
- Broughton High School Secondary
- Carr Hill High School Secondary
- Christ The King Catholic High School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic High School Secondary
- Eden Boys' School, Preston Secondary
- Fulwood Academy Secondary
- Garstang Community Academy Secondary
- Hutton Church of England Grammar School Secondary
- Longridge High School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School teach?
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School is Mrs Nicola Oddie, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Brownedge St Mary's 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 Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School?
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School has 772 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School full?
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School has capacity for 800 pupils and 772 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 46.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School rank locally?
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School ranked 33rd of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Brownedge St Mary's 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 30 June 2026.