St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy
Darlington Road, Richmond, DL10 7DA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic/Church of England
- Trust
- NICHOLAS POSTGATE CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher J Prime
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Middlesbrough
- Sponsor
- Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Richmond and Northallerton
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 570
- Pupils on roll
- 611
- URN
- 147213
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01748823414
About this school
St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy is a secondary academy in Richmond. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 611 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. 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 114 | 115 | 113 |
| Attainment 8 score | 59.7 | 56.4 | 54.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.79 +0.53 to +1.06 | +1.01 +0.75 to +1.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 53% | 61.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 87% | 84.3% | 87.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 51.3% | 59.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.0 | 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 Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England 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 | North Yorkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59.7 | 41.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 56.4 | 41.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.6 | 40.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 606 |
| 2023/24 | 608 |
| 2024/25 | 606 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy compares
St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire 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 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.6 | 4.2% | 12.4% | 611 | — |
| Richmond School & Sixth Form College | 45.6 | 8% | 17.2% | 1,315 | 0.3 miles |
| Risedale School | 29.8 | 11.5% | 33.7% | 467 | 2.2 miles |
| Wensleydale School | 41.5 | 7.9% | 18.3% | 407 | 7.9 miles |
| Hurworth School | 49.1 | 8.6% | 25.9% | 621 | 8.8 miles |
| Hummersknott Academy | 47.8 | 7.7% | 23% | 1,215 | 9.2 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)
- 12.38%
- English as an additional language
- 4.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.18%
- Persistent absence
- 7.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Richmond School & Sixth Form College0.3 miles
Secondary · Richmond
-
Risedale School2.2 miles
Secondary · Catterick Garrison
-
Wensleydale School7.9 miles
Secondary · Leyburn
-
Hurworth School8.8 miles
Secondary · Darlington
-
Hummersknott Academy9.2 miles
Secondary · Darlington
Other schools in Richmond
- Richmond School & Sixth Form College Secondary
- Barton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bolton-On-Swale St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Brompton-on-Swale Church of England Primary School Primary
- Eppleby Forcett Church of England Primary School Primary
- Gunnerside Methodist Primary School Primary
- Melsonby Methodist Primary School Primary
- Michael Syddall Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Middleton Tyas Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ravensworth Church of England Primary School Primary
- Reeth Community Primary School Primary
- Richmond Methodist Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Richmond.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy is Headteacher J Prime, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England 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 St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy has 611 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy full?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy has capacity for 570 pupils and 611 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 St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic/Church of England, in the Diocese of Middlesbrough.
- Is St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy is part of NICHOLAS POSTGATE CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 59.7 in 2022/23 and 54.6 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 Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy ranked 7th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire 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 81% 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 Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Xavier School - a Joint Catholic and Church of England 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.