St Catherine's Catholic School
Watling Street, Bexleyheath, DA6 7QJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST CATHERINE'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Thompson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Constituency
- Bexleyheath and Crayford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,021
- URN
- 137681
- Local authority
- Bexley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01322556333
About this school
St Catherine's Catholic School is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary academy in Bexleyheath. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,021 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- 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 | 203 | 202 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.9 | 55.8 | 55.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.56 +0.36 to +0.76 | +0.75 +0.55 to +0.95 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 63.4% | 58.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 81.2% | 85.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 54% | 71.3% | 65.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
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 Catherine's 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 | Bexley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.9 | 44 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.8 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.1 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,026 |
| 2023/24 | 1,039 |
| 2024/25 | 1,040 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Catherine's Catholic School compares
St Catherine's Catholic School ranked 5th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.1 | 5% | 20.4% | 1,021 | — |
| St Columba's Catholic Boys' School | 51.4 | 5.3% | 23.1% | 805 | 0.2 miles |
| Lift Bexleyheath | 41.1 | 8% | 27.6% | 1,474 | 0.5 miles |
| Beths Grammar School | 71.6 | 2.6% | 12.6% | 1,701 | 0.6 miles |
| Townley Grammar School | 75 | 3.8% | 11.4% | 1,669 | 0.8 miles |
| Haberdashers' Crayford Academy | 45.2 | 7.8% | 36.1% | 1,078 | 1.1 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)
- 20.38%
- English as an additional language
- 10.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.02%
- Persistent absence
- 13.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Columba's Catholic Boys' School0.2 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Lift Bexleyheath0.5 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Beths Grammar School0.6 miles
Secondary · Bexley
-
Townley Grammar School0.8 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Haberdashers' Crayford Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Dartford
Other schools in Bexleyheath
- Lift Bexleyheath Secondary
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School Secondary
- Townley Grammar School Secondary
- Barrington Primary School Primary
- Brampton Primary Academy Primary
- Bursted Wood Primary School Primary
- Crook Log Primary School Primary
- Fairford Academy Barnehurst Primary
- Gravel Hill Primary School Primary
- Pelham Primary School Primary
- St Thomas More Catholic Primary School Primary
- Upland Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Catherine's Catholic School teach?
- St Catherine's Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bexleyheath.
- Who is the headteacher of St Catherine's Catholic School?
- The headteacher of St Catherine's Catholic School is Mrs Nicola Thompson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Catherine's Catholic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Catherine's 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 big is St Catherine's Catholic School?
- St Catherine's Catholic School has 1,021 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Catherine's Catholic School full?
- St Catherine's Catholic School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,021 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 St Catherine's Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St Catherine's Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Catherine's Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St Catherine's Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Catherine's Catholic School?
- St Catherine's Catholic School is part of ST CATHERINE'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Catherine's Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.9 in 2022/23 and 55.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Catherine's Catholic School rank locally?
- St Catherine's Catholic School ranked 5th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% 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 Catherine's Catholic School's absence rate?
- St Catherine's Catholic School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Catherine's Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Catherine's 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 1 July 2026.