Saint Paul's Catholic High School
Firbank Road, Newall Green, Manchester, M23 2YS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Mike Whiteside
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
- SEN provision
- Not Applicable
- Constituency
- Wythenshawe and Sale East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 933
- URN
- 139456
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01614990000
About this school
Saint Paul's Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 933 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Saint Paul's Catholic High School, 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 186 | 173 | 167 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.8 | 32.0 | 33.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.52 -0.73 to -0.31 | -0.89 -1.11 to -0.67 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 17.3% | 25.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 43.4% | 46.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 34% | 32.9% | 15% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
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 Paul's Catholic High 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 | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39.8 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 33.3 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 916 |
| 2023/24 | 927 |
| 2024/25 | 952 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saint Paul's Catholic High School compares
Saint Paul's Catholic High School ranked 30th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 33.3 | 9.9% | 56.2% | 933 | — |
| Manchester Enterprise Academy | 37.5 | 15.6% | 64.3% | 1,145 | 0.4 miles |
| Dixons Newall Green Academy | — | 10.2% | 60.3% | 364 | 0.4 miles |
| Dixons Brooklands Academy | 36.1 | 16.6% | 56.4% | 913 | 1.4 miles |
| Altrincham College | 48.5 | 7.4% | 29.4% | 973 | 1.9 miles |
| Saint Ambrose College | 76.2 | 4.1% | 8% | 1,096 | 2.0 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)
- 56.2%
- English as an additional language
- 21.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.85%
- Persistent absence
- 27.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Manchester Enterprise Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Wythenshawe
-
Dixons Newall Green Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Dixons Brooklands Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Altrincham College1.9 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
-
Saint Ambrose College2.0 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
Other schools in Manchester
Saint Paul's Catholic High School ranks 59th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Saint Paul's Catholic High School teach?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Saint Paul's Catholic High School?
- The executive headteacher of Saint Paul's Catholic High School is Mr Mike Whiteside, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Saint Paul's Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saint Paul's Catholic High 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 many pupils are at Saint Paul's Catholic High School?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School has 933 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Saint Paul's Catholic High School full?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School has capacity for 900 pupils and 933 on roll (104%), 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 Paul's Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Saint Paul's Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
- Is Saint Paul's Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Saint Paul's Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Saint Paul's Catholic High School part of an academy trust?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School is part of CORPUS CHRISTI 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 Saint Paul's Catholic High School have?
- The schools register lists Saint Paul's Catholic High School's special educational needs provision as: Not Applicable. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Saint Paul's Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.8 in 2022/23 and 33.3 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 Paul's Catholic High School compare with other schools in Manchester?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School ranked 30th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% 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 Paul's Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Saint Paul's Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saint Paul's Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint Paul's Catholic High 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.