St Columba's Catholic Boys' School
Halcot Avenue, Bexleyheath, DA6 7QB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST OSCAR ROMERO CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Dave Evans
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bexleyheath and Crayford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 805
- URN
- 138650
- Local authority
- Bexley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01322553236
About this school
St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary academy in Bexleyheath. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 805 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 November 2024, 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 | 168 | 169 | 158 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.4 | 47.4 | 51.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.17 -0.38 to +0.05 | +0.04 -0.18 to +0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 49.7% | 53.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 67.5% | 75.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 20.1% | 20.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
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 Columba's Catholic Boys' 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 | 43.4 | 44 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.4 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.4 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 841 |
| 2023/24 | 838 |
| 2024/25 | 809 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Columba's Catholic Boys' School compares
St Columba's Catholic Boys' School ranked 6th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.4 | 5.3% | 23.1% | 805 | — |
| St Catherine's Catholic School | 55.1 | 5% | 20.4% | 1,021 | 0.2 miles |
| Beths Grammar School | 71.6 | 2.6% | 12.6% | 1,701 | 0.4 miles |
| Lift Bexleyheath | 41.1 | 8% | 27.6% | 1,474 | 0.6 miles |
| Townley Grammar School | 75 | 3.8% | 11.4% | 1,669 | 0.7 miles |
| Haberdashers' Crayford Academy | 45.2 | 7.8% | 36.1% | 1,078 | 1.2 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)
- 23.11%
- English as an additional language
- 22.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.33%
- Persistent absence
- 14.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Catherine's Catholic School0.2 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Beths Grammar School0.4 miles
Secondary · Bexley
-
Lift Bexleyheath0.6 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Townley Grammar School0.7 miles
Secondary · Bexleyheath
-
Haberdashers' Crayford Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Dartford
Other schools in Bexleyheath
- Lift Bexleyheath Secondary
- St Catherine's Catholic 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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School teach?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bexleyheath.
- Who is the headteacher of St Columba's Catholic Boys' School?
- The headteacher of St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is Mr Dave Evans, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Columba's Catholic Boys' School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Columba's Catholic Boys' 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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School has 805 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Columba's Catholic Boys' School full?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School has capacity for 900 pupils and 805 on roll (89%), 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 St Columba's Catholic Boys' School a faith school?
- Yes. St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Columba's Catholic Boys' School a selective school?
- No. St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Columba's Catholic Boys' School?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School is part of ST OSCAR ROMERO CATHOLIC 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 St Columba's Catholic Boys' School have?
- The schools register lists St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.4 in 2022/23 and 51.4 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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School rank locally?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School ranked 6th of 16 secondary schools in Bexley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% 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 Columba's Catholic Boys' School's absence rate?
- St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Columba's Catholic Boys' School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Columba's Catholic Boys' 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.