St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham
North End, Durham, DH1 4NG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Hammill
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
- Sponsor
- Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust
- Constituency
- City of Durham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,265
- Pupils on roll
- 1,293
- URN
- 143583
- Local authority
- County Durham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01913848575
About this school
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Durham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,293 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 236 | 214 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 59.4 | 57.2 | 57.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.65 +0.47 to +0.84 | +0.64 +0.45 to +0.84 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 66% | 61.7% | 59.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 83.2% | 80% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 23.4% | 36.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.0 |
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 Leonard's Catholic School, Durham has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | County Durham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59.4 | 39.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.2 | 38 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 57.7 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,408 |
| 2023/24 | 1,361 |
| 2024/25 | 1,260 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham compares
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham ranked 1st of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57.7 | 6.5% | 14.3% | 1,293 | — |
| Durham Johnston Comprehensive School | 55.2 | 6.5% | 15.9% | 1,667 | 0.5 miles |
| Framwellgate School Durham | 45.2 | 9.2% | 24.6% | 1,204 | 0.9 miles |
| Durham Academy | 37.4 | 12.2% | 62.1% | 405 | 2.0 miles |
| Belmont Community School | 53.4 | 8.1% | 33.5% | 887 | 2.4 miles |
| Hermitage Academy | 49.1 | 7.4% | 31.2% | 881 | 4.7 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.34%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.54%
- Persistent absence
- 15.94%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Durham Johnston Comprehensive School0.5 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Framwellgate School Durham0.9 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Durham Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Belmont Community School2.4 miles
Secondary · Durham
-
Hermitage Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Chester le Street
Other schools in Durham
St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham ranks 1st of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Durham.
- Belmont Community School Secondary
- Durham Academy Secondary
- Durham Johnston Comprehensive School Secondary
- Framwellgate School Durham Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College, Lanchester Secondary
- Langley Moor Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints' Catholic Primary School, Lanchester Primary
- Bearpark Primary School Primary
- Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School Primary
- Belmont CofE (Controlled) Primary School Primary
- Blue Coat CofE (Aided) Junior School Primary
- Brandon Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham teach?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Durham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham?
- The headteacher of St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is Mr Christopher Hammill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham, 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 Leonard's Catholic School, Durham?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham has 1,293 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham full?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham has capacity for 1,265 pupils and 1,293 on roll (102%), 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 Leonard's Catholic School, Durham a faith school?
- Yes. St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
- Is St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham a selective school?
- No. St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham part of an academy trust?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham is part of BISHOP WILKINSON CATHOLIC EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 59.4 in 2022/23 and 57.7 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 Leonard's Catholic School, Durham compare with other schools in County Durham?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham ranked 1st of 30 secondary schools in County Durham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 91% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% 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 Leonard's Catholic School, Durham's absence rate?
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham'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 10 July 2026.