Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy
Cumber Lane, Whiston, Prescot, L35 2XG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Clare McKenna
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Sponsor
- Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- St Helens South and Whiston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 730
- URN
- 148534
- Local authority
- Knowsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514778770
About this school
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Prescot. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 730 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 131 | 118 | 133 |
| Attainment 8 score | 33.9 | 31.5 | 30.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.11 -1.36 to -0.87 | -1.01 -1.27 to -0.75 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 23% | 16.9% | 11.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 43% | 33.9% | 34.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 5% | 31.4% | 29.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic 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 | Knowsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 33.9 | 27.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 31.5 | 27.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 30.2 | 28.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 16.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 685 |
| 2023/24 | 725 |
| 2024/25 | 757 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy compares
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy ranked 6th of 6 secondary schools in Knowsley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 30.2 | 16.2% | 50.2% | 730 | — |
| Rainhill High School | 45.9 | 6% | 18.4% | 1,535 | 1.3 miles |
| The Prescot School | 35.5 | 11.9% | 54.2% | 915 | 1.5 miles |
| Lord Derby Academy | 39.9 | 9.2% | 54.1% | 1,076 | 2.1 miles |
| The Sutton Academy | 43.1 | 10.2% | 40.4% | 1,441 | 2.3 miles |
| De La Salle School | — | 9.3% | 24.8% | 1,180 | 2.7 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)
- 50.2%
- English as an additional language
- 10.2%
- Overall absence
- 16.18%
- Persistent absence
- 47.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Rainhill High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Prescot
-
The Prescot School1.5 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Lord Derby Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
The Sutton Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
De La Salle School2.7 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
Other schools in Prescot
- Rainhill High School Secondary
- Rainhill Community Nursery Nursery
- Eccleston Lane Ends Primary School Primary
- Evelyn Community Primary School Primary
- Halsnead Primary School Primary
- Knowsley Village School Primary
- Oakdene Primary Academy Primary
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Prescot Primary School Primary
- St Ann's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy teach?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Prescot.
- Who is the headteacher of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is Mrs Clare McKenna, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic 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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy has 730 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy full?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 730 on roll (70%), 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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy is part of POPE FRANCIS 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 Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 33.9 in 2022/23 and 30.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy compare with other schools in Knowsley?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy ranked 6th of 6 secondary schools in Knowsley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 22% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 1% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 16.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic 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.