St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy
Bridge Road, Bury, BL9 0TZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Braithwaite
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Sponsor
- St Teresa Of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Bury North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,027
- URN
- 148049
- Local authority
- Bury
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617643186
About this school
St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Bury. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,027 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Gabriel's RC High 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 213 | 210 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.5 | 44.5 | 46.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.27 -0.47 to -0.08 | -0.18 -0.38 to +0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 35.2% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 58.6% | 63% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 35% | 31.4% | 28.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Gabriel's RC High 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 | Bury average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.5 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.5 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,048 |
| 2023/24 | 1,060 |
| 2024/25 | 1,053 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy compares
St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46 | 8.5% | 24.7% | 1,027 | — |
| Bury Church of England High School | 49.1 | 8.4% | 22% | 802 | 0.3 miles |
| The Derby High School | — | — | — | — | 0.4 miles |
| The Elton High School | 44.3 | 7.9% | 22.2% | 1,017 | 1.2 miles |
| Hazel Wood High School | 35.7 | 10.4% | 55.6% | 671 | 1.4 miles |
| Star Radcliffe Academy | — | 7% | 45.6% | 286 | 1.8 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)
- 24.69%
- English as an additional language
- 24.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.5%
- Persistent absence
- 24.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bury Church of England High School0.3 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
The Derby High School0.4 miles
Secondary · Lancs
-
The Elton High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
Hazel Wood High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
Star Radcliffe Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Radcliffe
Other schools in Bury
St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranks 3rd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Bury.
- Bury Church of England High School Secondary
- Hazel Wood High School Secondary
- The Elton High School Secondary
- Tottington High School Secondary
- Unsworth Academy Secondary
- Woodhey High School Secondary
- Hoyle Nursery School Nursery
- Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Primary
- Chantlers Primary School Primary
- Chesham Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- East Ward Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bury.
- Who is the headteacher of St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is Mr Simon Braithwaite, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Gabriel's RC High 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 Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has 1,027 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy full?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,027 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is part of ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA 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 Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.5 in 2022/23 and 46 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 Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Bury?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% 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 Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Gabriel's RC High 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.