Painsley Catholic College
Station Road, Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent, ST10 1LH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Rachel Waugh
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Sponsor
- St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,447
- Pupils on roll
- 1,340
- URN
- 138729
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01538493777
About this school
Painsley Catholic College is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,340 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Painsley Catholic College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 215 | 208 | 221 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.2 | 57.0 | 58.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.72 +0.53 to +0.91 | +0.51 +0.32 to +0.71 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 63% | 64.4% | 63.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 85.6% | 82.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 82% | 82.7% | 86% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.4 |
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 Painsley Catholic College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.2 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.8 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,310 |
| 2023/24 | 1,325 |
| 2024/25 | 1,318 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Painsley Catholic College compares
Painsley Catholic College ranked 1st of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.8 | 5% | 13.5% | 1,340 | — |
| The Cheadle Academy | 40 | 7.7% | 28.1% | 380 | 0.1 miles |
| Blythe Bridge High School | 46.6 | 6.6% | 15.2% | 1,049 | 3.1 miles |
| Moorside High School | 45.4 | 6.3% | 21.4% | 766 | 4.6 miles |
| Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams | — | 4.5% | 42.5% | 295 | 4.7 miles |
| Ormiston Meridian Academy | 40.2 | 8.8% | 47.6% | 1,015 | 5.3 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)
- 13.45%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.03%
- Persistent absence
- 12.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Cheadle Academy0.1 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Blythe Bridge High School3.1 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Moorside High School4.6 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams4.7 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Ormiston Meridian Academy5.3 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Painsley Catholic College ranks 2nd of the 23 ranked secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Alsager School Secondary
- Biddulph High School Secondary
- Birches Head Academy Secondary
- Blythe Bridge High School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams Secondary
- Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent Secondary
- Discovery Academy Secondary
- Endon High School Secondary
- Haywood Academy Secondary
- Kidsgrove Secondary School Secondary
- Moorside High School Secondary
- Ormiston Meridian Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Painsley Catholic College teach?
- Painsley Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the principal of Painsley Catholic College?
- The principal of Painsley Catholic College is Mrs Rachel Waugh, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Painsley Catholic College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Painsley Catholic College, 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 Painsley Catholic College?
- Painsley Catholic College has 1,340 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Painsley Catholic College full?
- Painsley Catholic College has capacity for 1,447 pupils and 1,340 on roll (93%), 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 Painsley Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. Painsley Catholic College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is Painsley Catholic College a selective school?
- No. Painsley Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Painsley Catholic College part of an academy trust?
- Painsley Catholic College is part of ST GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL 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 Painsley Catholic College have?
- The schools register lists Painsley Catholic College's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Painsley Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.2 in 2022/23 and 58.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Painsley Catholic College compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- Painsley Catholic College ranked 1st of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 92% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Painsley Catholic College's absence rate?
- Painsley Catholic College's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Painsley Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Painsley Catholic College'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.