Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy
Abbot Road, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston, DE7 4HX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Steve Brogan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Sponsor
- St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Erewash
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 606
- Pupils on roll
- 625
- URN
- 137908
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01159322896
About this school
Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Ilkeston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 625 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 24 April 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 117 | 118 | 148 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 | 47.8 | 48.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.11 -0.37 to +0.15 | +0.21 -0.05 to +0.47 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 50% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 72% | 70.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 50.8% | 49.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
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 Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.8 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.1 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 657 |
| 2023/24 | 685 |
| 2024/25 | 678 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 13th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% 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 | 48.1 | 9.4% | 25.4% | 625 | — |
| Kirk Hallam Community Academy | 38.7 | 11.1% | 45.4% | 709 | 0.3 miles |
| Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy | 40.5 | 8.9% | 46.5% | 984 | 0.8 miles |
| Friesland School | 44.1 | 9.3% | 30.1% | 1,120 | 3.1 miles |
| Bramcote College | 51.3 | 6.8% | 25.9% | 816 | 3.7 miles |
| Heanor Gate Spencer Academy | 49.6 | 6% | 32.7% | 1,493 | 3.7 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)
- 25.37%
- English as an additional language
- 7.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.35%
- Persistent absence
- 23.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kirk Hallam Community Academy0.3 miles
Secondary · Ilkeston
-
Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Ilkeston
-
Friesland School3.1 miles
Secondary · Sandiacre
-
Bramcote College3.7 miles
Secondary · Nottingham
-
Heanor Gate Spencer Academy3.7 miles
Secondary · Heanor
Other schools in Ilkeston
- Kirk Hallam Community Academy Secondary
- Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy Secondary
- Charlotte Nursery and Infant School Primary
- Chaucer Infant School Primary
- Chaucer Junior School Primary
- Cotmanhay Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Cotmanhay Junior School Primary
- Dallimore Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Field House Infant School Primary
- Granby Junior School Primary
- Hallam Fields Junior School Primary
- Horsley Woodhouse Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ilkeston.
- Who is the headteacher of Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mr Steve Brogan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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 Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy has 625 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 606 pupils and 625 on roll (103%), 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 Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Is Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST RALPH SHERWIN 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 Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48 in 2022/23 and 48.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 13th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% 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 Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy'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.