St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy
Oxford Road, Dewsbury, WF13 4LL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr Karl Mackey
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Sponsor
- Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Dewsbury and Batley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,069
- Pupils on roll
- 992
- URN
- 141470
- Local authority
- Kirklees
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924527000
About this school
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Dewsbury. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 992 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- 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 | 192 | 187 | 174 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.8 | 31.4 | 34.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.79 -0.99 to -0.58 | -0.99 -1.20 to -0.78 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 28% | 17.1% | 25.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 48% | 36.4% | 46% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 29.9% | 16.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
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 Voluntary 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 | Kirklees average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34.8 | 40.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 31.4 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34.8 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,053 |
| 2023/24 | 958 |
| 2024/25 | 928 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 25th of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 27% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34.8 | 12% | 43.5% | 992 | — |
| Westborough High School | 42.6 | 9.9% | 46.7% | 900 | 0.2 miles |
| Manor Croft Academy | 47.8 | 10.9% | 38.7% | 1,032 | 1.2 miles |
| Heckmondwike Grammar School | 80.2 | 3.6% | 5.8% | 1,522 | 1.4 miles |
| Upper Batley High School | 44.1 | 8.8% | 28.3% | 784 | 1.8 miles |
| Castle Hall Academy | 46.9 | 9% | 36.7% | 863 | 2.1 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)
- 43.45%
- English as an additional language
- 19.7%
- Overall absence
- 12%
- Persistent absence
- 36.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Westborough High School0.2 miles
Secondary · Dewsbury
-
Manor Croft Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Dewsbury
-
Heckmondwike Grammar School1.4 miles
Secondary · Heckmondwike
-
Upper Batley High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Batley
-
Castle Hall Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Mirfield
Other schools in Dewsbury
- Manor Croft Academy Secondary
- Thornhill Community Academy, A Share Academy Secondary
- Westborough High School Secondary
- Flatts Nursery School Nursery
- Boothroyd Primary Academy Primary
- Bywell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- Carlton Junior and Infant School Primary
- Diamond Wood Community Academy Primary
- Earlsheaton Infant School Primary
- Eastborough Academy Primary
- Headfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
- Orchard Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dewsbury.
- Who is the acting headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The acting headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mr Karl Mackey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary 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 John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy has 992 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,069 pupils and 992 on roll (93%), 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 John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC 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 Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.8 in 2022/23 and 34.8 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 Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 25th of 25 secondary schools in Kirklees for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 27% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% 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 Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 12% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary 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.