Greyfriars Catholic School
Cricket Road, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 3DR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY COMPANY
- Headteacher
- Ms Lyndsey Caldwell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Company
- Constituency
- Oxford East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 669
- URN
- 146800
- Local authority
- Oxfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01865749933
About this school
Greyfriars Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Oxford. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 669 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Greyfriars Catholic School, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- 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 | 84 | 157 | 90 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.4 | 40.4 | 34.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.41 -0.78 to -0.04 | -0.04 -0.31 to +0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 37.6% | 28.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 56.1% | 44.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 15.3% | 5.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
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 Greyfriars Catholic School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Oxfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36.4 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.4 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34 | 37.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 655 |
| 2023/24 | 687 |
| 2024/25 | 670 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Greyfriars Catholic School compares
Greyfriars Catholic School ranked 36th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34 | 9.7% | 31.4% | 669 | — |
| Oxford Spires Academy | 46.3 | 10.2% | 28.1% | 1,351 | 0.5 miles |
| Cheney School | 46 | 10.8% | 27% | 1,706 | 1.1 miles |
| The Oxford Academy | 33.6 | 13.7% | 52.7% | 1,062 | 1.1 miles |
| The Swan School | 55.4 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 1,057 | 2.4 miles |
| The Cherwell School | 58.3 | 7.2% | 18.6% | 2,023 | 2.9 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)
- 31.41%
- English as an additional language
- 44.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.71%
- Persistent absence
- 29.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oxford Spires Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
Cheney School1.1 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Oxford Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Swan School2.4 miles
Secondary · Oxford
-
The Cherwell School2.9 miles
Secondary · Oxford
Other schools in Oxford
Greyfriars Catholic School ranks 7th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Oxford.
- Cheney School Secondary
- Matthew Arnold School Secondary
- Oxford Spires Academy Secondary
- The Cherwell School Secondary
- The Oxford Academy Secondary
- The Swan School Secondary
- Wheatley Park School Secondary
- Comper Nursery School Nursery
- Grandpont Nursery School Nursery
- Headington Quarry Nursery School Nursery
- Slade Nursery School Nursery
- Wheatley Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Greyfriars Catholic School teach?
- Greyfriars Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Oxford.
- Who is the headteacher of Greyfriars Catholic School?
- The headteacher of Greyfriars Catholic School is Ms Lyndsey Caldwell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Greyfriars Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Greyfriars Catholic School, 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 Greyfriars Catholic School?
- Greyfriars Catholic School has 669 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Greyfriars Catholic School full?
- Greyfriars Catholic School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 669 on roll (56%), 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 Greyfriars Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. Greyfriars Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic.
- Is Greyfriars Catholic School a selective school?
- No. Greyfriars Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Greyfriars Catholic School part of an academy trust?
- Greyfriars Catholic School is part of THE POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY COMPANY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Greyfriars Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 36.4 in 2022/23 and 34 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Greyfriars Catholic School compare with other schools in Oxfordshire?
- Greyfriars Catholic School ranked 36th of 41 secondary schools in Oxfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 25% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Greyfriars Catholic School's absence rate?
- Greyfriars Catholic School's overall absence rate is 9.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Greyfriars Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Greyfriars Catholic School'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.