St Cecilia's RC High School
Chapel Hill, Longridge, Preston, PR3 2XA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Hall
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 577
- Pupils on roll
- 581
- URN
- 119800
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772783074
About this school
St Cecilia's RC High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 581 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 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 93 | 96 | 115 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.3 | 45.5 | 46.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.11 -0.19 to +0.41 | +0.12 -0.17 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 42.7% | 41.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 61.5% | 59.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 14.6% | 22.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
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 Cecilia'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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.3 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.2 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 532 |
| 2023/24 | 562 |
| 2024/25 | 570 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Cecilia's RC High School compares
St Cecilia's RC High School ranked 32nd 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 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.2 | 9.5% | 30.4% | 581 | — |
| Longridge High School | 44.6 | 8.7% | 33.8% | 810 | 0.1 miles |
| Corpus Christi Catholic High School | 50.2 | 4.3% | 29.7% | 813 | 4.9 miles |
| Archbishop Temple Church of England High School | 55.4 | 6.6% | 12.3% | 891 | 5.0 miles |
| Broughton High School | 59.3 | 4.9% | 9.6% | 932 | 5.1 miles |
| Moor Park High School and Sixth Form | 39.3 | 7.3% | 46.8% | 599 | 5.2 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)
- 30.35%
- English as an additional language
- 9.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.49%
- Persistent absence
- 28.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Longridge High School0.1 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Corpus Christi Catholic High School4.9 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Archbishop Temple Church of England High School5.0 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Broughton High School5.1 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Moor Park High School and Sixth Form5.2 miles
Secondary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
St Cecilia's RC High School ranks 12th 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
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic 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
Common questions
- What year groups does St Cecilia's RC High School teach?
- St Cecilia's RC High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Preston.
- Who is the headteacher of St Cecilia's RC High School?
- The headteacher of St Cecilia's RC High School is Mrs Helen Hall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Cecilia's RC High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Cecilia'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 Cecilia's RC High School?
- St Cecilia's RC High School has 581 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Cecilia's RC High School full?
- St Cecilia's RC High School has capacity for 577 pupils and 581 on roll (101%), 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 Cecilia's RC High School a faith school?
- Yes. St Cecilia's RC High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Cecilia's RC High School a selective school?
- No. St Cecilia's RC High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Cecilia's RC High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.3 in 2022/23 and 46.2 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 Cecilia's RC High School rank locally?
- St Cecilia's RC High School ranked 32nd 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 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 St Cecilia's RC High School's absence rate?
- St Cecilia's RC High School's overall absence rate is 9.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Cecilia's RC High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Cecilia'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.