St John Fisher Catholic Academy
Hookstone Drive, Harrogate, HG2 8PT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP WHEELER CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Steve Mort
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Sponsor
- The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,383
- Pupils on roll
- 1,250
- URN
- 148855
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01423887254
About this school
St John Fisher Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Harrogate. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,250 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher 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. 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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 207 | 223 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.5 | 57.9 | 55.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.17 -0.03 to +0.37 | +0.59 +0.41 to +0.78 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 69.1% | 62.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 82.1% | 79.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 15.7% | 78.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
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 John Fisher 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 | North Yorkshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.5 | 41.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.9 | 41.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 55.1 | 40.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,398 |
| 2023/24 | 1,328 |
| 2024/25 | 1,280 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Fisher Catholic Academy compares
St John Fisher Catholic Academy ranked 6th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55.1 | 8% | 10.1% | 1,250 | — |
| St Aidan's Church of England High School | 56.4 | 6.9% | 6.6% | 1,966 | 0.4 miles |
| Harrogate High School | 39.1 | 11.2% | 32.4% | 579 | 1.0 miles |
| Harrogate Grammar School | 56.6 | 7.9% | 10.4% | 2,081 | 1.2 miles |
| Rossett School | 44.1 | 10.5% | 23.4% | 785 | 1.5 miles |
| King James's School | 46.1 | 8.9% | 18% | 1,554 | 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)
- 10.06%
- English as an additional language
- 8.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.02%
- Persistent absence
- 19.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Aidan's Church of England High School0.4 miles
Secondary · Harrogate
-
Harrogate High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Harrogate
-
Harrogate Grammar School1.2 miles
Secondary · Harrogate
-
Rossett School1.5 miles
Secondary · Harrogate
-
King James's School2.7 miles
Secondary · Knaresborough
Other schools in Harrogate
St John Fisher Catholic Academy ranks 3rd of the 6 ranked secondary schools in Harrogate.
- Harrogate Grammar School Secondary
- Harrogate High School Secondary
- Nidderdale High School Secondary
- Rossett School Secondary
- St Aidan's Church of England High School Secondary
- Admiral Long Church of England Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England School Primary
- Beckwithshaw Community Primary School Primary
- Birstwith Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burton Leonard Church of England Primary School Primary
- Coppice Valley Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St John Fisher Catholic Academy teach?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Harrogate.
- Who is the headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic Academy is Mr Steve Mort, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John Fisher Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher 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 St John Fisher Catholic Academy?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy has 1,250 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Academy full?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,383 pupils and 1,250 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 John Fisher Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St John Fisher Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. St John Fisher Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy is part of THE BISHOP WHEELER CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St John Fisher Catholic Academy have?
- The schools register lists St John Fisher Catholic Academy's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St John Fisher Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.5 in 2022/23 and 55.1 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 John Fisher Catholic Academy compare with other schools in North Yorkshire?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy ranked 6th of 41 secondary schools in North Yorkshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% 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 John Fisher Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St John Fisher Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Fisher Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Fisher 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.