The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School
Hitchin Road, Stevenage, SG1 4AE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr David Carrasco-Morley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Stevenage
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,405
- Pupils on roll
- 1,620
- URN
- 137895
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01438314643
About this school
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Stevenage. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,620 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 17 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 | 245 | 241 | 239 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.3 | 56.8 | 57.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.70 +0.52 to +0.88 | +0.72 +0.54 to +0.90 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 65% | 64.3% | 64.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 86% | 83.8% | 83.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 41.5% | 38.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 |
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 The Saint John Henry Newman 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 | Hertfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.3 | 44.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.8 | 44.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 57.9 | 44.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,615 |
| 2023/24 | 1,603 |
| 2024/25 | 1,605 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School compares
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School ranked 20th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57.9 | 5.5% | 10.3% | 1,620 | — |
| The Thomas Alleyne Academy | 48 | 7.9% | 23.9% | 970 | 0.4 miles |
| Barclay Academy | 49.5 | 8.6% | 26% | 1,044 | 0.5 miles |
| Marriotts School | 42.4 | 9.4% | 32.9% | 1,415 | 1.9 miles |
| The Nobel School | 50.2 | 7.3% | 19.9% | 1,475 | 2.0 miles |
| Barnwell School | 41.5 | 10.9% | 30.1% | 1,270 | 2.7 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)
- 10.28%
- English as an additional language
- 26.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.49%
- Persistent absence
- 12.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Thomas Alleyne Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
-
Barclay Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
-
Marriotts School1.9 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
-
The Nobel School2.0 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
-
Barnwell School2.7 miles
Secondary · Stevenage
Other schools in Stevenage
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School ranks 1st of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Stevenage.
- Barclay Academy Secondary
- Barnwell School Secondary
- Marriotts School Secondary
- The Nobel School Secondary
- The Thomas Alleyne Academy Secondary
- Peartree Way Nursery School Nursery
- Almond Hill Junior School Primary
- Ardeley St Lawrence Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Ashtree Primary Academy Primary
- Aston St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Bedwell Primary School Primary
- Benington Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School teach?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stevenage.
- Who is the headteacher of The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School?
- The headteacher of The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is Mr David Carrasco-Morley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Saint John Henry Newman 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 The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School has 1,620 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School full?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School has capacity for 1,405 pupils and 1,620 on roll (115%), 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 The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School a selective school?
- No. The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is part of THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.3 in 2022/23 and 57.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School rank locally?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School ranked 20th of 78 secondary schools in Hertfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School's absence rate?
- The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School's overall absence rate is 5.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Saint John Henry Newman 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.