St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy
Bury Old Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1JH
- 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
- Mrs Emma Keenan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Sponsor
- St Teresa Of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Bury South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,032
- URN
- 148050
- Local authority
- Bury
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617736436
About this school
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,032 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
- 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 | 225 | 215 | 222 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.6 | 51.1 | 50.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.11 -0.08 to +0.30 | +0.21 +0.01 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 58.6% | 55.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 77.7% | 77.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 25.1% | 14% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
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 Monica'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 | 48.6 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.1 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.4 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,111 |
| 2023/24 | 1,086 |
| 2024/25 | 1,066 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy compares
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 1st of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.4 | 7.9% | 23.9% | 1,032 | — |
| Manchester Mesivta School | 39.3 | 12.5% | 2.9% | 233 | 0.4 miles |
| The Heys School | 34 | 13.5% | 47.8% | 546 | 0.7 miles |
| The King David High School | 55.4 | 8% | 19% | 708 | 1.1 miles |
| Beis Yaakov High School | 49.3 | 6.6% | 3.2% | 283 | 1.2 miles |
| Parrenthorn High School | — | — | — | 1,025 | 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)
- 23.92%
- English as an additional language
- 20.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.85%
- Persistent absence
- 19.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Manchester Mesivta School0.4 miles
Secondary · Prestwich
-
The Heys School0.7 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
The King David High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Beis Yaakov High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Salford
-
Parrenthorn High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranks 14th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is Mrs Emma Keenan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Monica'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 big is St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has 1,032 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy full?
- St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,032 on roll (90%), 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 St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy?
- St Monica'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 Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.6 in 2022/23 and 50.4 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 Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy ranked 1st of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% 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 Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Monica'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.