St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy
Sunlaws Street, Glossop, SK13 8DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Kays
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Sponsor
- St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- High Peak
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 485
- Pupils on roll
- 577
- URN
- 142042
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01457853611
About this school
St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Glossop. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 577 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy, 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 119 | 111 | 111 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.9 | 43.8 | 40.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.12 -0.14 to +0.37 | +0.22 -0.05 to +0.49 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 39.6% | 25.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 55% | 51.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 44% | 26.1% | 18% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 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 Philip Howard 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 | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.9 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.8 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.5 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 593 |
| 2023/24 | 582 |
| 2024/25 | 572 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 38th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.5 | 8.7% | 29.4% | 577 | — |
| Glossopdale School and Sixth Form | 43.4 | 10.1% | 31.3% | 1,162 | 1.2 miles |
| Longdendale High School | 41.1 | 10.1% | 37.4% | 795 | 2.3 miles |
| Alder Community High School | 46.6 | 10.6% | 38.4% | 912 | 4.3 miles |
| Dixons Pennine Academy | 35.8 | 10.4% | 45% | 592 | 4.5 miles |
| Rayner Stephens High School | 35.6 | 13.1% | 49.8% | 635 | 5.1 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report6 January 2026
- 5 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.37%
- English as an additional language
- 1.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.68%
- Persistent absence
- 24.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Glossopdale School and Sixth Form1.2 miles
Secondary · Glossop
-
Longdendale High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Hyde
-
Alder Community High School4.3 miles
Secondary · Hyde
-
Dixons Pennine Academy4.5 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
Rayner Stephens High School5.1 miles
Secondary · Dukinfield
Other schools in Glossop
- Glossopdale School and Sixth Form Secondary
- Gamesley Early Excellence Centre Nursery
- Hadfield Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Academy Primary
- Charlesworth Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Dinting Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Duke of Norfolk CofE Primary School Primary
- Gamesley Primary School Primary
- Hadfield Infant School Primary
- Padfield Community Primary School Primary
- Simmondley Primary School Primary
- St Andrew's CofE Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Glossop.
- Who is the headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mr Michael Kays, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Philip Howard 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 many pupils are at St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy has 577 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 485 pupils and 577 on roll (119%), 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 Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Is St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST RALPH SHERWIN 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 Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.9 in 2022/23 and 40.5 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 Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Derbyshire?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 38th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 40% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% 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 Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Philip Howard 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 2 July 2026.