Saint Paul's Catholic High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 July 2026

Pupils are positive about their school’s culture and ethos. They want to embody the school’s motto of ‘belong, believe, achieve’. There is a clear sense of belonging in this community. A typical view expressed by pupils is that their time at Saint Paul’s is filled with 'support, time, care and patience' from staff. This reflects the strength of relationships between staff and pupils. Most pupils attend school regularly. Many arrive early each morning to benefit from the healthy breakfast that the school provides. This helps to reduce barriers to attendance for some pupils. Staff use the time to check on pupils' wellbeing and help them to prepare for the day ahead. Pupils enjoy their learning. They gain opportunities to nurture their talents and interests. For example, pupils studying Spanish recently visited Malaga to put their language skills into practice. One pupil told inspectors ‘It was the best experience of my life.' The cost of school visits are subsidised to help to ensure that all can participate. Pupils benefit from a wide range of support. They trust that their teachers and other staff will treat them kindly. Pupils are aware of who to go to with any worries. Bullying, for example, is dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. This contributes to pupils feeling safe in school. The school's most recent published results show that pupils do not attain as well as they should in national examinations. However, this is affected by a high proportion of pupils who join the school later on. Nevertheless, most pupils are successful in their next steps into further education or training. Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. They are polite and welcoming to visitors and try hard to meet leaders’ high expectations of behaviour.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that effective teaching approaches are implemented consistently across all subjects so that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve more highly.
• Leaders should strengthen the use of assessment strategies so that gaps in pupils’ knowledge are identified and addressed more quickly.
• Leaders should evaluate and refine their attendance strategies so that persistent absence reduces further and pupils lose less learning time.
• Leaders should embed recently introduced approaches to improving handwriting so that pupils develop greater fluency in their written work.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)