St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy
Little Chell Lane, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 6LZ
- 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
- Headteacher
- Mr Dominic McKenna
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Sponsor
- St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Stoke-on-Trent North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,143
- URN
- 140149
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782883000
About this school
St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,143 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Margaret Ward Catholic 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 204 | 208 | 206 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 41.2 | 43.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.45 to -0.05 | -0.44 -0.64 to -0.24 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 35.1% | 40.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 61.5% | 63.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 86% | 82.2% | 69.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
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 Margaret Ward Catholic 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 | Stoke-on-Trent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.8 | 31.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.2 | 29.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43 | 30.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,157 |
| 2023/24 | 1,162 |
| 2024/25 | 1,139 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy compares
St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy ranked 5th of 14 secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 | 43 | 7.1% | 37.6% | 1,143 | — |
| Ormiston Horizon Academy | 37.3 | 11.6% | 42.5% | 1,029 | 0.3 miles |
| Haywood Academy | 36.1 | 12.2% | 46.7% | 1,080 | 1.0 miles |
| Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent | 42.7 | 10.2% | 52.1% | 1,300 | 1.2 miles |
| The Excel Academy | 37.5 | 10.7% | 34.8% | 1,184 | 2.2 miles |
| The King's CofE Academy | 40.1 | 10.2% | 35.6% | 732 | 2.3 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.64%
- English as an additional language
- 33.4%
- Overall absence
- 7.05%
- Persistent absence
- 18.91%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ormiston Horizon Academy0.3 miles
Secondary · Stoke on Trent
-
Haywood Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent1.2 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
The Excel Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
The King's CofE Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy ranks 11th 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 St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy teach?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the headteacher of St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy is Mr Dominic McKenna, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Margaret Ward Catholic 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 Margaret Ward Catholic Academy?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy has 1,143 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy full?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,143 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy 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.
- How have St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 43 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 Margaret Ward Catholic Academy compare with other schools in Stoke-on-Trent?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy ranked 5th of 14 secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 Margaret Ward Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Margaret Ward Catholic 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.