St Mary's Catholic School
Benton Park Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE7 7PE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP BEWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Emma Patterson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- Newcastle upon Tyne North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,395
- Pupils on roll
- 1,462
- URN
- 140081
- Local authority
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01912153260
About this school
St Mary's Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,462 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. 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
- 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 | 233 | 236 | 228 |
| Attainment 8 score | 56.0 | 55.9 | 58.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.47 +0.29 to +0.66 | +0.56 +0.37 to +0.74 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 63.1% | 68.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 79% | 82.2% | 84.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 67% | 56.4% | 56.1% |
| 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 St Mary's Catholic 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 | Newcastle upon Tyne average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 55.9 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 58.9 | 38 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,434 |
| 2023/24 | 1,442 |
| 2024/25 | 1,459 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic School compares
St Mary's Catholic School ranked 1st of 12 secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne 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 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58.9 | 6.9% | 24.4% | 1,462 | — |
| Jesmond Park Academy | 51.4 | 8.1% | 36.9% | 2,092 | 0.9 miles |
| Longbenton High School | 41.7 | 10.3% | 33.1% | 995 | 1.1 miles |
| Gosforth Academy | 54.4 | 8.8% | 19.9% | 1,925 | 1.3 miles |
| Benfield School | 33.5 | 14.3% | 68.3% | 819 | 1.8 miles |
| George Stephenson High School | 48 | 9.1% | 27.5% | 1,233 | 2.1 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)
- 24.36%
- English as an additional language
- 22.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.91%
- Persistent absence
- 17.72%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Jesmond Park Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Longbenton High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Gosforth Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Benfield School1.8 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
George Stephenson High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Other schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
St Mary's Catholic School ranks 1st of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Benfield School Secondary
- Callerton Academy Secondary
- George Stephenson High School Secondary
- Gosforth Academy Secondary
- Jesmond Park Academy Secondary
- Kenton School Secondary
- Longbenton High School Secondary
- North Gosforth Academy Secondary
- Sacred Heart Catholic High School Secondary
- St Cuthbert's High School Secondary
- Studio West Secondary
- Walbottle Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Catholic School teach?
- St Mary's Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic School?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic School is Emma Patterson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Catholic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Catholic 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 Mary's Catholic School?
- St Mary's Catholic School has 1,462 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Mary's Catholic School full?
- St Mary's Catholic School has capacity for 1,395 pupils and 1,462 on roll (105%), 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 Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Is St Mary's Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St Mary's Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Mary's Catholic School?
- St Mary's Catholic School is part of BISHOP BEWICK CATHOLIC EDUCATION 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 Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 56 in 2022/23 and 58.9 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 Catholic School rank locally?
- St Mary's Catholic School ranked 1st of 12 secondary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne 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 26% 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 Catholic School's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Catholic 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.