St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
Boardmans Lane, Blackbrook, St. Helens, WA11 9BB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOSEPH CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Giselle Lynch
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Sponsor
- St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- St Helens North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 549
- URN
- 149031
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01744678112
About this school
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in St. Helens. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 549 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Augustine of Canterbury 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
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 | 122 | 103 | 79 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.7 | 45.0 | 42.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.70 -0.96 to -0.44 | -0.05 -0.34 to +0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 32% | 27.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 41% | 59.2% | 57% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 7% | 18.4% | 8.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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 St Augustine of Canterbury 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 | St. Helens average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35.7 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45 | 38.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.6 | 30.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 541 |
| 2023/24 | 563 |
| 2024/25 | 548 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy compares
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.6 | 8.9% | 48.7% | 549 | — |
| St Cuthbert's Catholic High School | 34.5 | 14.3% | 48.2% | 897 | 1.1 miles |
| Outwood Academy Haydock | 41.2 | 8.9% | 39.4% | 791 | 1.3 miles |
| Cowley International College | 39.3 | 12.6% | 41.9% | 1,514 | 1.8 miles |
| The Sutton Academy | 43.1 | 10.2% | 40.4% | 1,441 | 2.4 miles |
| De La Salle School | — | 9.3% | 24.8% | 1,180 | 2.6 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)
- 48.72%
- English as an additional language
- 11.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.88%
- Persistent absence
- 26.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Cuthbert's Catholic High School1.1 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
Outwood Academy Haydock1.3 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
-
Cowley International College1.8 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
The Sutton Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
De La Salle School2.6 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
Other schools in St. Helens
- De La Salle School Secondary
- Outwood Academy Haydock Secondary
- Haydock English Martyrs' Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy teach?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in St. Helens.
- Who is the headteacher of St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy is Mrs Giselle Lynch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Augustine of Canterbury 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 Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy has 549 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy full?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy has capacity for 750 pupils and 549 on roll (73%), 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 Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy a selective school?
- No. St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy is part of ST JOSEPH 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 St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.7 in 2022/23 and 42.6 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 Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy compare with other schools in St. Helens?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% 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 Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Augustine of Canterbury 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.