St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy
Bradford Road, Menston, Ilkley, LS29 6AE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP WHEELER CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Margaret Hattersley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Sponsor
- The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Leeds North West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,096
- Pupils on roll
- 1,211
- URN
- 139351
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01943883000
About this school
St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Ilkley. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,211 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- 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 | 202 | 199 | 192 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.2 | 56.5 | 55.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.56 +0.36 to +0.76 | +0.41 +0.21 to +0.61 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 67% | 65.8% | 59.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 82.9% | 80.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 74% | 74.4% | 74.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.2 | 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 St. Mary's Menston, 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.
| Year | This school | Leeds average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57.2 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.5 | 39.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,228 |
| 2023/24 | 1,195 |
| 2024/25 | 1,213 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% 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 | 55 | 7.2% | 7.8% | 1,211 | — |
| Guiseley School | 49.6 | 7% | 15.4% | 1,431 | 0.8 miles |
| Benton Park School | — | — | — | 1,516 | 2.5 miles |
| Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College | 54.6 | 6.9% | 15.2% | 1,641 | 2.6 miles |
| Immanuel College | 41.9 | 11.9% | 30.5% | 1,732 | 2.8 miles |
| Titus Salt School | 40.9 | 11.1% | 29.3% | 1,462 | 3.8 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)
- 7.75%
- English as an additional language
- 6.9%
- Overall absence
- 7.15%
- Persistent absence
- 18.21%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Guiseley School0.8 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Benton Park School2.5 miles
Secondary · Leeds
-
Otley Prince Henry's Grammar School Specialist Language College2.6 miles
Secondary · Otley
-
Immanuel College2.8 miles
Secondary · Bradford
-
Titus Salt School3.8 miles
Secondary · Bradford
Other schools in Ilkley
- Ilkley Grammar School Secondary
- Addingham Primary School Primary
- All Saints' CofE Primary School Primary
- Ashlands Primary School Primary
- Ben Rhydding Primary School Primary
- Burley and Woodhead CofE Primary School Primary
- Burley Oaks Primary School Primary
- Menston Primary School Primary
- The Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Primary
- Ghyll Royd School and Pre-School Independent schools
- Moorfield School & Nursery Independent schools
- Westville House School Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ilkley.
- Who is the headteacher of St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is Miss Margaret Hattersley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St. Mary's Menston, 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 many pupils are at St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy has 1,211 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,096 pupils and 1,211 on roll (110%), 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 St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Is St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of THE BISHOP WHEELER CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.2 in 2022/23 and 55 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. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Leeds?
- St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 42 secondary schools in Leeds for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% 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 St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St. Mary's Menston, 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 St. Mary's Menston, a Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St. Mary's Menston, 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.