St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy
Spencefield Lane, Leicester, LE5 6HN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Shelley Conaghan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Constituency
- Leicester East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,142
- Pupils on roll
- 1,167
- URN
- 146232
- Local authority
- Leicester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01162414057
About this school
St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Leicester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,167 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Paul's Catholic School, a 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 January 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 | 214 | 184 | 183 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.1 | 50.0 | 54.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.01 to +0.39 | +0.30 +0.09 to +0.51 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 50% | 57.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 73.4% | 77.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 32.6% | 30.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
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 Paul's 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 | 50.1 | 40.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50 | 42.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.5 | 46.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,130 |
| 2023/24 | 1,086 |
| 2024/25 | 1,144 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy compares
St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 2nd of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.5 | 6.7% | 19.5% | 1,167 | — |
| The City of Leicester College | 49.1 | 7.5% | 35.5% | 1,499 | 0.4 miles |
| Judgemeadow Community College | 46.7 | 7.8% | 24.7% | 975 | 0.5 miles |
| Crown Hills Community College | 47.4 | 6.2% | 26.3% | 1,493 | 0.9 miles |
| Madani Boys School | 52.2 | 5.9% | 23.9% | 450 | 1.3 miles |
| Madani Girls' School | 61.4 | 4.9% | 27.3% | 452 | 1.3 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)
- 19.53%
- English as an additional language
- 49.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.69%
- Persistent absence
- 18.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The City of Leicester College0.4 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Judgemeadow Community College0.5 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Crown Hills Community College0.9 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Madani Boys School1.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
-
Madani Girls' School1.3 miles
Secondary · Leicester
Other schools in Leicester
St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy ranks 4th 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
- English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Fullhurst Community College Secondary
- Gartree High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Leicester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy is Mrs Shelley Conaghan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's 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 many pupils are at St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy?
- St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy has 1,167 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy full?
- St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,142 pupils and 1,167 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 Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Is St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Paul's 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 St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.1 in 2022/23 and 54.5 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 Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Leicester?
- St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 2nd of 19 secondary schools in Leicester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 86% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% 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 Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's 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.