Notre Dame RC School
Looseleigh Lane, Derriford, Plymouth, PL6 5HN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- PLYMOUTH CAST
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Antram
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Plymouth
- Sponsor
- Plymouth CAST
- Constituency
- Plymouth Moor View
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 764
- URN
- 140737
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752775101
About this school
Notre Dame RC School is a Roman Catholic girls' secondary academy in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 764 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Notre Dame RC 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
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
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Urgent improvement
- Post-16 provision
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Not met
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 133 | 134 | 122 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.9 | 41.7 | 43.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.31 -0.56 to -0.06 | -0.27 -0.52 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 28.4% | 33.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 55.2% | 56.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 26% | 36.6% | 32.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
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 Notre Dame RC 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 | Plymouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.9 | 39.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.7 | 41.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.3 | 42 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 785 |
| 2023/24 | 765 |
| 2024/25 | 732 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Notre Dame RC School compares
Notre Dame RC School ranked 10th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.3 | 10.8% | 27.3% | 764 | — |
| Sir John Hunt Community Sports College | 39.8 | 12.5% | 43.5% | 760 | 0.8 miles |
| St Boniface's RC College | 39 | 10% | 34.4% | 389 | 1.2 miles |
| Tor Bridge High | 40.4 | 12.6% | 28% | 1,121 | 1.4 miles |
| Eggbuckland Community College | 42.3 | 10.4% | 21.7% | 1,007 | 1.5 miles |
| All Saints Church of England Academy | 41.4 | 14.1% | 49.1% | 668 | 1.9 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)
- 27.27%
- English as an additional language
- 10.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.77%
- Persistent absence
- 31.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sir John Hunt Community Sports College0.8 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
St Boniface's RC College1.2 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Tor Bridge High1.4 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
Eggbuckland Community College1.5 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
-
All Saints Church of England Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
Notre Dame RC School ranks 10th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Plymouth.
- All Saints Church of England Academy Secondary
- Coombe Dean School Secondary
- Devonport High School for Boys Secondary
- Devonport High School for Girls Secondary
- Eggbuckland Community College Secondary
- Hele's School Secondary
- Lipson Co-operative Academy Secondary
- Marine Academy Plymouth Secondary
- Millbay Academy Secondary
- Plymouth High School for Girls Secondary
- Plympton Academy Secondary
- Plymstock School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Notre Dame RC School teach?
- Notre Dame RC School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Notre Dame RC School?
- The headteacher of Notre Dame RC School is Mr Michael Antram, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Notre Dame RC School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Notre Dame RC 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 Notre Dame RC School?
- Notre Dame RC School has 764 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Notre Dame RC School full?
- Notre Dame RC School has capacity for 900 pupils and 764 on roll (85%), 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 Notre Dame RC School a faith school?
- Yes. Notre Dame RC School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Plymouth.
- Is Notre Dame RC School a selective school?
- No. Notre Dame RC School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Notre Dame RC School part of an academy trust?
- Notre Dame RC School is part of PLYMOUTH CAST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Notre Dame RC School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.9 in 2022/23 and 43.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Notre Dame RC School compare with other schools in Plymouth?
- Notre Dame RC School ranked 10th of 19 secondary schools in Plymouth for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Notre Dame RC School's absence rate?
- Notre Dame RC School's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Notre Dame RC School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Notre Dame RC 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 15 July 2026.