St Mary's Catholic Academy
St Walburga's Road, Blackpool, FY3 7EQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BLESSED EDWARD BAMBER CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Simon Eccles
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Constituency
- Blackpool South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,199
- Pupils on roll
- 1,188
- URN
- 141257
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253396286
About this school
St Mary's Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,188 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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 | 195 | 205 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.3 | 42.0 | 41.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.76 -0.96 to -0.55 | -0.70 -0.89 to -0.50 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 28.3% | 28.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 48% | 51.2% | 54.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 7.3% | 11.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 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 | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.3 | 29.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42 | 27.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.5 | 25.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,199 |
| 2023/24 | 1,205 |
| 2024/25 | 1,184 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Catholic Academy compares
St Mary's Catholic Academy ranked 2nd of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.5 | 7.9% | 37.1% | 1,188 | — |
| Blackpool Aspire Academy | 36.7 | 9.6% | 66.5% | 799 | 0.7 miles |
| Baines School | 45.8 | 8.5% | 31.6% | 726 | 1.3 miles |
| St George's School A Church of England Academy | 55.5 | 5.5% | 33.6% | 1,038 | 2.0 miles |
| Montgomery Academy | 40 | 9% | 37.3% | 1,192 | 2.1 miles |
| Hodgson Academy | 49.5 | 6.3% | 18.3% | 1,121 | 2.2 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)
- 37.09%
- English as an additional language
- 28.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.87%
- Persistent absence
- 22.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blackpool Aspire Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Blackpool
-
Baines School1.3 miles
Secondary · Poulton-le-Fylde
-
St George's School A Church of England Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Blackpool
-
Montgomery Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Blackpool
-
Hodgson Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Poulton-Le-Fylde
Other schools in Blackpool
St Mary's Catholic Academy ranks 2nd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Blackpool.
- Blackpool Aspire Academy Secondary
- Highfield Leadership Academy Secondary
- Montgomery Academy Secondary
- South Shore Academy Secondary
- St George's School A Church of England Academy Secondary
- Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Gateway Academy Primary
- Blackpool St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School Primary
- Boundary Primary School Primary
- Christ The King Catholic Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Catholic Academy teach?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Blackpool.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Mary's Catholic Academy is Simon Eccles, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Catholic Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's 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 big is St Mary's Catholic Academy?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy has 1,188 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Academy full?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,199 pupils and 1,188 on roll (99%), 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 Mary's Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Is St Mary's Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. St Mary's Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Mary's Catholic Academy?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy is part of THE BLESSED EDWARD BAMBER 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 Mary's Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.3 in 2022/23 and 41.5 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 Academy rank locally?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy ranked 2nd of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% 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 Academy's absence rate?
- St Mary's Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's 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.