St Alban's Catholic High School
Digby Road, Ipswich, IP4 3NJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Headteacher Simon Corless
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of East Anglia
- Constituency
- Ipswich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 967
- URN
- 137849
- Local authority
- Suffolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01473726178
About this school
St Alban's Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Ipswich. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 967 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Alban's Catholic High School, 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 160 | 160 | 173 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 48.9 | 46.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.10 -0.13 to +0.32 | +0.13 -0.11 to +0.36 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 51.3% | 41.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 65.6% | 65.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 19% | 31.9% | 22.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 |
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 Alban'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 | Suffolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.7 | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.9 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.9 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,023 |
| 2023/24 | 1,016 |
| 2024/25 | 996 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Alban's Catholic High School compares
St Alban's Catholic High School ranked 12th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.9 | 8.1% | 21.6% | 967 | — |
| Copleston High School | 46.9 | 8.5% | 19% | 1,930 | 0.6 miles |
| Northgate High School | 50.6 | 8.4% | 18.9% | 1,750 | 1.0 miles |
| Kesgrave High School | 49.7 | 7.6% | 15.1% | 1,875 | 1.9 miles |
| Ipswich Academy | 37.6 | 11.7% | 39.8% | 981 | 2.4 miles |
| Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy | 34.3 | 11.3% | 40.6% | 811 | 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report24 April 2025
- 21 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.64%
- English as an additional language
- 37.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.06%
- Persistent absence
- 22.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Copleston High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Northgate High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Kesgrave High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Ipswich Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
-
Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Ipswich
Other schools in Ipswich
St Alban's Catholic High School ranks 4th of the 12 ranked secondary schools in Ipswich.
- Chantry Academy Secondary
- Claydon High School Secondary
- Copleston High School Secondary
- Hadleigh High School Secondary
- Holbrook Academy Secondary
- Ipswich Academy Secondary
- Kesgrave High School Secondary
- Northgate High School Secondary
- Ormiston Endeavour Academy Secondary
- Stoke High School - Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Westbourne Academy Secondary
- Highfield Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does St Alban's Catholic High School teach?
- St Alban's Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ipswich.
- Who is the principal of St Alban's Catholic High School?
- The principal of St Alban's Catholic High School is Headteacher Simon Corless, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Alban's Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Alban'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 many pupils are at St Alban's Catholic High School?
- St Alban's Catholic High School has 967 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Alban's Catholic High School full?
- St Alban's Catholic High School has capacity for 1,020 pupils and 967 on roll (95%), 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 Alban's Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. St Alban's Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of East Anglia.
- Is St Alban's Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. St Alban's Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Alban's Catholic High School part of an academy trust?
- St Alban's Catholic High School is part of OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Alban's Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2022/23 and 46.9 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 Alban's Catholic High School compare with other schools in Suffolk?
- St Alban's Catholic High School ranked 12th of 43 secondary schools in Suffolk for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% 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 Alban's Catholic High School's absence rate?
- St Alban's Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 8.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Alban's Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Alban'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 1 July 2026.