St Joseph's Catholic College
Ocotal Way, Swindon, SN3 3LR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC COLLEGE
- Principal
- Jerry Giles
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Clifton
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Swindon South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,425
- URN
- 136980
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01793714200
About this school
St Joseph's Catholic College is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Swindon. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,425 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 November 2023, 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 | 272 | 275 | 278 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.0 | 49.1 | 38.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.06 -0.23 to +0.12 | +0.37 +0.19 to +0.54 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 49.5% | 27.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 68.4% | 48.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 10% | 15.3% | 7.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
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 Joseph's Catholic College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Swindon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.1 | 37.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38 | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,409 |
| 2023/24 | 1,416 |
| 2024/25 | 1,433 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's Catholic College compares
St Joseph's Catholic College ranked 12th of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38 | 8% | 20.8% | 1,425 | — |
| Lawn Manor Academy | 37.5 | 9% | 40.4% | 969 | 0.7 miles |
| UTC Swindon | 32.4 | 10.3% | 30.8% | 182 | 1.3 miles |
| The Dorcan Academy | 44.3 | 9.8% | 31.8% | 881 | 1.5 miles |
| The Commonweal School | 46.3 | 9.5% | 18.8% | 1,442 | 1.5 miles |
| Kingsdown School | 41.4 | 8.4% | 28.3% | 1,108 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 20.8%
- English as an additional language
- 22.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.99%
- Persistent absence
- 21.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lawn Manor Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
UTC Swindon1.3 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
The Dorcan Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
The Commonweal School1.5 miles
Secondary · Swindon
-
Kingsdown School1.9 miles
Secondary · Swindon
Other schools in Swindon
St Joseph's Catholic College ranks 14th of the 16 ranked secondary schools in Swindon.
- Abbey Park School Secondary
- Bradon Forest School Secondary
- Great Western Academy Secondary
- Highworth Warneford School Secondary
- Kingsdown School Secondary
- Lawn Manor Academy Secondary
- Lydiard Park Academy Secondary
- Nova Hreod Academy Secondary
- Royal Wootton Bassett Academy Secondary
- The Commonweal School Secondary
- The Deanery CofE Academy Secondary
- The Dorcan Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Joseph's Catholic College teach?
- St Joseph's Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Swindon.
- Who is the principal of St Joseph's Catholic College?
- The principal of St Joseph's Catholic College is Jerry Giles, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's Catholic College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's Catholic College, 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 St Joseph's Catholic College?
- St Joseph's Catholic College has 1,425 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic College full?
- St Joseph's Catholic College has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,425 on roll (106%), 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 Joseph's Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's Catholic College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Clifton.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic College a selective school?
- No. St Joseph's Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Joseph's Catholic College part of an academy trust?
- St Joseph's Catholic College is part of ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC COLLEGE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Joseph's Catholic College have?
- The schools register lists St Joseph's Catholic College's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Joseph's Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47 in 2022/23 and 38 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 Joseph's Catholic College compare with other schools in Swindon?
- St Joseph's Catholic College ranked 12th of 14 secondary schools in Swindon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% 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 Joseph's Catholic College's absence rate?
- St Joseph's Catholic College's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's Catholic College'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 1 July 2026.