Aquinas College

About Aquinas College

Aquinas College sits at the top of the Stockport secondary school rankings, ranked first out of 13 schools in the local authority based on Progress 8 scores. That puts it ahead of its nearest peers, including Laurus Cheadle Hulme, Priestnall School, and Marple Hall School. It’s a Roman Catholic sixth-form college that takes students from age 16 to 99, with headteacher Jo Dommett at the helm. The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 admissions, it received 770 applications for 205 places, with 156 first-preference applications and 155 first-preference offers. That’s an oversubscription ratio of 3.76, making it a clear first choice for many local families. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 rated the school Good overall, with leadership and management and sixth-form provision both judged Good. That’s a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2011, but the ungraded inspection confirmed the school remains Good.

Academically, Aquinas delivers strong results. Its Progress 8 score of 0.6 is well above average nationally and significantly higher than the Stockport local authority average of 0.07. The school ranks 35th out of 445 schools in the North West and 369th out of 3,141 schools nationally on the same measure. At KS4, the Attainment 8 score is 52.2, and 73% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The EBacc average point score is 4.51, with 38.5% of pupils entering the EBacc. At A-level, the picture is more mixed: the value-added score is -0.43, which is below average, and the average points per entry is 32.06, equivalent to a C+. The best three A-levels average grade is also C+, with 20.6% of entries achieving AAB or higher. So while GCSE outcomes are strong, sixth-form progress is an area to watch.

The school is well equipped, with facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, chapel, and a dedicated sixth-form centre. Sports on offer include rugby, netball, hockey, tennis, and martial arts, and there are clubs for coding, chess, orchestra, and Young Enterprise. The school has a broad range of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 47.1% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a diverse intake. This is a good fit for families in Stockport who want a high-performing sixth-form college with strong GCSE outcomes and a Catholic ethos, but who are aware that A-level progress is less strong than at KS4.

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