St John Fisher Catholic College
Ashfields New Road, Newcastle Under Lyme, ST5 2SJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Catholic
- Trust
- ST GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL CATHOLIC MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Garrett Murray
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Sponsor
- St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 981
- Pupils on roll
- 1,075
- URN
- 140802
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01782307551
About this school
St John Fisher Catholic College is a Catholic secondary academy in Newcastle Under Lyme. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,075 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 199 | 198 | 198 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.0 | 43.5 | 41.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.68 -0.88 to -0.48 | -0.40 -0.61 to -0.20 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 37.4% | 34.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 63.1% | 57.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 15.2% | 12.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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 John Fisher Catholic College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.5 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.8 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,121 |
| 2023/24 | 1,094 |
| 2024/25 | 1,091 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Fisher Catholic College compares
St John Fisher Catholic College ranked 35th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% 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 | 41.8 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,075 | — |
| The Orme Academy | 43.8 | 8.5% | 23.8% | 768 | 0.9 miles |
| Newcastle Academy | 37.6 | 12.1% | 40.8% | 441 | 1.0 miles |
| Chesterton Community Sports College | 41.2 | 8.6% | 35.8% | 915 | 1.7 miles |
| Thistley Hough Academy | 47.9 | 8.5% | 38.9% | 1,105 | 1.8 miles |
| Clayton Hall Academy | 45.8 | 8.5% | 20.1% | 828 | 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.
Inspection history
- 13 December 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report16 June 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.81%
- English as an additional language
- 29.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.17%
- Persistent absence
- 17.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Orme Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Newcastle
-
Newcastle Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Newcastle Under Lyme
-
Chesterton Community Sports College1.7 miles
Secondary · Newcastle
-
Thistley Hough Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Clayton Hall Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Newcastle-under-Lyme
Other schools in Newcastle Under Lyme
- Newcastle Academy Secondary
- Knutton St Marys CofE Academy Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does St John Fisher Catholic College teach?
- St John Fisher Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Newcastle Under Lyme.
- Who is the headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic College?
- The headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic College is Mr Garrett Murray, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John Fisher Catholic College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher Catholic College, 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 John Fisher Catholic College?
- St John Fisher Catholic College has 1,075 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic College full?
- St John Fisher Catholic College has capacity for 981 pupils and 1,075 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 John Fisher Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. St John Fisher Catholic College is designated Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic College a selective school?
- No. St John Fisher Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St John Fisher Catholic College?
- St John Fisher Catholic College 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 John Fisher Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40 in 2022/23 and 41.8 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 John Fisher Catholic College rank locally?
- St John Fisher Catholic College ranked 35th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% 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 John Fisher Catholic College's absence rate?
- St John Fisher Catholic College's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Fisher Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Fisher Catholic College'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.