St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow
Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, LA13 9LE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- MATER CHRISTI MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Daniel Vince
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lancaster
- Sponsor
- Mater Christi Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 916
- Pupils on roll
- 624
- URN
- 148702
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229814560
About this school
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Barrow-in-Furness. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 624 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
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 | 148 | 131 | 150 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.3 | 39.2 | 34.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.55 -0.78 to -0.32 | -0.63 -0.88 to -0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 34.4% | 23.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 57.3% | 43.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 7% | 3.1% | 19.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Westmorland and Furness average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.3 | 37.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.2 | 40 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34.6 | 41.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 690 |
| 2023/24 | 663 |
| 2024/25 | 674 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow compares
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow ranked 19th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% 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 | 34.6 | 9.8% | 29.1% | 624 | — |
| Furness Academy | 42.4 | 9.3% | 29.9% | 1,187 | 1.0 miles |
| Dowdales School | 41.8 | 9.5% | 21.2% | 877 | 2.1 miles |
| Walney School | 38.7 | 9.3% | 25.9% | 468 | 2.9 miles |
| Ulverston Victoria High School | 46.8 | 9.4% | 14.3% | 1,319 | 5.9 miles |
| Millom School | 44.9 | 8.2% | 22.7% | 476 | 6.4 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)
- 29.08%
- English as an additional language
- 9.5%
- Overall absence
- 9.75%
- Persistent absence
- 27.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Furness Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Dowdales School2.1 miles
Secondary · Dalton-in-Furness
-
Walney School2.9 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Ulverston Victoria High School5.9 miles
Secondary · Ulverston
-
Millom School6.4 miles
Secondary · Millom
Other schools in Barrow-in-Furness
- Furness Academy Secondary
- Walney School Secondary
- Hindpool Nursery School Nursery
- Barrow Island Community Primary School Primary
- Brisbane Park Infant School Primary
- Cambridge Primary School Primary
- Greengate Junior School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Newbarns Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Newton Village Academy Primary
- Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Parkside Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow teach?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Barrow-in-Furness.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow?
- The headteacher of St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is Mr Daniel Vince, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow, 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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow has 624 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow full?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow has capacity for 916 pupils and 624 on roll (68%), 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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow a faith school?
- Yes. St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Lancaster.
- Is St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow a selective school?
- No. St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is part of MATER CHRISTI MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.3 in 2022/23 and 34.6 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 Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow rank locally?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow ranked 19th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% 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 St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's absence rate?
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow'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.