St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury
Old Dover Road, Canterbury, CT1 3EN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mr J Rowarth
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Southwark
- Sponsor
- Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability
- Constituency
- Canterbury
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,325
- Pupils on roll
- 1,116
- URN
- 140874
- Local authority
- Kent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01227826200
About this school
St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Canterbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,116 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 179 | 179 | 174 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.8 | 42.4 | 39.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.12 -0.34 to +0.09 | -0.02 -0.24 to +0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 34.6% | 21.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 63.1% | 46% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 18.4% | 14.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Kent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.8 | 37.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.4 | 37.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.4 | 37.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,099 |
| 2023/24 | 1,090 |
| 2024/25 | 1,107 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury compares
St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury ranked 65th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.4 | 8% | 24.1% | 1,116 | — |
| Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School | 67.7 | 6.5% | 8% | 1,258 | 0.2 miles |
| Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys | 66.8 | 6% | 7.9% | 1,226 | 0.7 miles |
| Barton Manor School | — | 6.9% | 44.3% | 596 | 0.8 miles |
| Barton Court Grammar School | 66.4 | 4.6% | 11.4% | 995 | 1.0 miles |
| The Canterbury Academy | 39 | 10.9% | 34% | 1,984 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.07%
- English as an additional language
- 10%
- Overall absence
- 7.98%
- Persistent absence
- 21.76%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School0.2 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys0.7 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Barton Manor School0.8 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
Barton Court Grammar School1.0 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
-
The Canterbury Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Canterbury
Other schools in Canterbury
St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Canterbury.
- Barton Court Grammar School Secondary
- Barton Manor School Secondary
- Orion Spires Secondary
- Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School Secondary
- Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- The Archbishop's School Secondary
- The Canterbury Academy Secondary
- Adisham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ash Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aylesham Primary School Primary
- Barham Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blean Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury teach?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Canterbury.
- Who is the headteacher of St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury?
- The headteacher of St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is Mr J Rowarth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury, 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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury has 1,116 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury full?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury has capacity for 1,325 pupils and 1,116 on roll (84%), 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 St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury a faith school?
- Yes. St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Southwark.
- Is St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury a selective school?
- No. St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury is part of KENT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS' PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury have?
- The schools register lists St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; PD - Physical Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.8 in 2022/23 and 39.4 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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury rank locally?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury ranked 65th of 100 secondary schools in Kent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% 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 Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's absence rate?
- St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury'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.