English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy
Anstey Lane, Leicester, LE4 0FJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Principal Mathew Calen
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Constituency
- Leicester West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,066
- Pupils on roll
- 1,143
- URN
- 146196
- Local authority
- Leicester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01162428880
About this school
English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Leicester. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,143 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 232 | 188 | 189 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | 49.7 | 54.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.02 -0.21 to +0.17 | +0.16 -0.04 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 51.1% | 57.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 74.5% | 77.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 22.3% | 35.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
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 English Martyrs' Catholic School, A 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 | Leicester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.7 | 40.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.7 | 42.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54 | 46.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,161 |
| 2023/24 | 1,148 |
| 2024/25 | 1,167 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy compares
English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 3rd of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54 | 4.3% | 16% | 1,143 | — |
| Beaumont Leys School | 45.2 | 8.6% | 32.7% | 1,062 | 0.3 miles |
| Brook Mead Academy | — | 6.2% | 28.8% | 1,104 | 0.5 miles |
| Babington Academy | 38 | 11.2% | 47.9% | 1,339 | 0.7 miles |
| The Herewoode Academy | — | — | — | 979 | 1.0 miles |
| Castle Mead Academy | 48 | 9.3% | 45.2% | 1,223 | 1.1 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)
- 16.02%
- English as an additional language
- 59.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.29%
- Persistent absence
- 7.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Beaumont Leys School0.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Brook Mead Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Babington Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
The Herewoode Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Castle Mead Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Leicester
Other schools in Leicester
English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy ranks 6th of the 33 ranked secondary schools in Leicester.
- Babington Academy Secondary
- Beauchamp College Secondary
- Beaumont Leys School Secondary
- Bosworth Academy Secondary
- Brockington College Secondary
- Brook Mead Academy Secondary
- Brookvale Groby Learning Campus Secondary
- Castle Mead Academy Secondary
- Crown Hills Community College Secondary
- Fullhurst Community College Secondary
- Gartree High School Secondary
- Heath Lane Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy teach?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Leicester.
- Who is the principal of English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy?
- The principal of English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy is Principal Mathew Calen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected English Martyrs' Catholic School, A 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 English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy has 1,143 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy full?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,066 pupils and 1,143 on roll (107%), 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 English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Is English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy is part of ST THOMAS AQUINAS 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 English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.7 in 2022/23 and 54 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 3rd of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, English Martyrs' Catholic School, A 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 10 July 2026.