St Paul's Catholic College
Manor Lane, Sunbury-on-Thames, TW16 6JE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ASCENSION CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Mc Nulty
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Westminster
- Constituency
- Spelthorne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,067
- Pupils on roll
- 1,395
- URN
- 149290
- Local authority
- Surrey
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01932783811
About this school
St Paul's Catholic College is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Sunbury-on-Thames. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,395 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 31 January 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 207 | 209 |
| Attainment 8 score | 57.4 | 61.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.85 +0.65 to +1.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 69.1% | 75.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 88.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 53.6% | 57.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.3 | 5.8 |
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 Paul's Catholic College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Surrey average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 38.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 57.4 | 39.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 61.8 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,304 |
| 2023/24 | 1,333 |
| 2024/25 | 1,366 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's Catholic College compares
St Paul's Catholic College ranked 7th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 94% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61.8 | 4.2% | 13.5% | 1,395 | — |
| The Bishop Wand Church of England School | 53.9 | 5.2% | 7.4% | 1,229 | 0.6 miles |
| Heathside Walton-on-Thames | — | 6.3% | 20.3% | 661 | 1.3 miles |
| Thamesmead School | 50.6 | 8.9% | 19.5% | 1,054 | 1.9 miles |
| Hampton High | 43.5 | 9.4% | 33.8% | 847 | 2.0 miles |
| Logic Studio School | 34.2 | 12.4% | 43.6% | 341 | 2.1 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)
- 13.49%
- English as an additional language
- 25.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.18%
- Persistent absence
- 6.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Bishop Wand Church of England School0.6 miles
Secondary · Sunbury-on-Thames
-
Heathside Walton-on-Thames1.3 miles
Secondary · Walton-on-Thames
-
Thamesmead School1.9 miles
Secondary · Shepperton
-
Hampton High2.0 miles
Secondary · Hampton
-
Logic Studio School2.1 miles
Secondary · Feltham
Other schools in Sunbury-on-Thames
- Sunbury Manor School Secondary
- The Bishop Wand Church of England School Secondary
- Beauclerc Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Chennestone Primary School Primary
- Kenyngton Manor Primary School Primary
- Springfield Primary School Primary
- Great Oaks Charitable Trust T/A Great Oaks College Other types
- Maypole School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does St Paul's Catholic College teach?
- St Paul's Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Sunbury-on-Thames.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's Catholic College?
- The headteacher of St Paul's Catholic College is Mr James Mc Nulty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Paul's Catholic College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's Catholic College, 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 Paul's Catholic College?
- St Paul's Catholic College has 1,395 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Paul's Catholic College full?
- St Paul's Catholic College has capacity for 1,067 pupils and 1,395 on roll (131%), so it is at or above 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 Paul's Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's Catholic College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Westminster.
- Is St Paul's Catholic College a selective school?
- No. St Paul's Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Paul's Catholic College?
- St Paul's Catholic College is part of ASCENSION 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 Paul's Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 57.4 in 2023/24 and 61.8 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 Paul's Catholic College rank locally?
- St Paul's Catholic College ranked 7th of 54 secondary schools in Surrey for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 94% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% 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 Paul's Catholic College's absence rate?
- St Paul's Catholic College's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's Catholic College'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.