What year groups does Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Derby.

Who is the headteacher of Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?

The headteacher of Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Hazel Boyce, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.

When was Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?

Ofsted has inspected Saint Benedict, A 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has 1,465 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.

Is Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy full?

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,591 pupils and 1,465 on roll (92%), so it has space against 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?

Yes. Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.

Is Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?

No. Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.

Who runs Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?

Saint Benedict, A 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.

What SEN provision does Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

The schools register lists Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.

How have Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?

Its Attainment 8 score was 43.5 in 2022/23 and 45.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.

What is Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.

What are Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?

Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint Benedict, A 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.

Home
Derby
Derby
Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

Duffield Road, Darley Abbey, Derby, DE22 1JD

Phase: Secondary
School type: Academy converter
Ages: 11 to 19
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Trust: ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Headteacher: Mrs Hazel Boyce
Admissions policy: Non-selective
Diocese: Diocese of Nottingham
Sponsor: St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
SEN provision: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Constituency: Derby North
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Capacity: 1,591
Pupils on roll: 1,465
URN: 138622
Local authority: Derby
Website: School website
Telephone: 01332557032

About this school

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Derby. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,465 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.

Ofsted judgement

England: previous inspection framework

Inspected 29 November 2023 · short inspection

Good

Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one

Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 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.

Read the full report on Ofsted's website

Exam results

Key stage 4 (GCSEs)

Measure	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
Pupils at the end of key stage 4	228	243	243
Attainment 8 score	43.5	49.3	45.3
Progress 8 score	-0.17 -0.36 to +0.02	+0.31 +0.13 to +0.50	-
Grade 5 or above in English and maths	41%	51%	37%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths	61%	66.7%	63.8%
Entered the English Baccalaureate	24%	35%	25.9%
English Baccalaureate average point score	3.7	4.4	3.9

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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.

Key stage 4: Attainment 8

Year	This school	Derby average	England average
2022/23	43.5	37.3	39.8
2023/24	49.3	37.3	39.5
2024/25	45.3	38.1	39

Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.

Overall absence rate

Year	This school	England average
2022/23	8.1%	6.8%
2023/24	7.7%	6.6%
2024/25	7.2%	6.2%

Department for Education pupil absence data.

Pupils on roll

Year	This school
2022/23	1,338
2023/24	1,456
2024/25	1,507

School census, spring count each academic year.

How Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy compares

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 16 secondary schools in Derby for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% of England schools in 2024/25.

School	Attainment 8 (2024/25)	Absence	FSM (6 years)	Pupils	Distance
This school	45.3	7.2%	31.8%	1,465	—
Allestree Woodlands School	46.5	7.8%	21.9%	1,373	1.0 miles
Landau Forte College	55.4	6.1%	37.2%	1,272	1.2 miles
Derby Cathedral School	41.5	6.2%	54.4%	1,159	1.5 miles
Da Vinci Academy	34.7	8.5%	56.7%	668	1.6 miles
UTC Derby Pride Park	42	8.1%	39.9%	534	2.3 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): 31.78%
English as an additional language: 36.4%
Overall absence: 7.19%
Persistent absence: 19.97%

Location

Nearby schools

Allestree Woodlands School
Secondary · Derby

1.0 miles
Landau Forte College
Secondary · Derby

1.2 miles
Derby Cathedral School
Secondary · Derby

1.5 miles
Da Vinci Academy
Secondary · Derby

1.6 miles
UTC Derby Pride Park
Secondary · Derby

2.3 miles

Other schools in Derby

Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy ranks 9th of the 18 ranked secondary schools in Derby.

Common questions

What year groups does Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?: Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Derby.
Who is the headteacher of Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?: The headteacher of Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mrs Hazel Boyce, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
When was Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?: Ofsted has inspected Saint Benedict, A 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?: Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has 1,465 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
Is Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy full?: Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,591 pupils and 1,465 on roll (92%), so it has space against 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?: Yes. Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
Is Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?: No. Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
Who runs Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy?: Saint Benedict, A 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.
What SEN provision does Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy have?: The schools register lists Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
How have Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?: Its Attainment 8 score was 43.5 in 2022/23 and 45.3 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy rank locally?: Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 16 secondary schools in Derby for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 58% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 24% 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 Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?: Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
What are Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?: Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint Benedict, A 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.