Cardinal Newman Catholic High School

About Cardinal Newman Catholic High School

Cardinal Newman Catholic High School is a mixed, state secondary for 11-16 year olds in Warrington, a local authority with 15 secondary schools of its type. Within this landscape, it sits behind Lymm High School, King's Leadership Academy Warrington, and Bridgewater High School, which are the top-ranked peers in the area according to local context data. The school is Roman Catholic in character and led by headteacher Helen Pinnington, with 855 pupils on roll. Its facilities include a chapel, swimming pool, theatre, and sports hall, and it offers a broad range of extracurricular activities such as Model UN, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, coding, and orchestra. While the nearest Outstanding-rated school is Priestley College, 1.8 km away, Cardinal Newman itself holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection, placing it among the majority of Warrington secondaries that are not rated Outstanding.

Academically, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection rated it Good overall, with no specific breakdown of individual judgement areas available in the data. For context, the local authority average Progress 8 score is -0.29, which gives a benchmark for how schools in Warrington typically perform relative to other pupils nationally with similar starting points. Without Cardinal Newman's own Progress 8 score or KS2 SATs results in the data, it's not possible to say exactly how it compares to this LA average. However, its Good rating suggests it meets the standards expected for a state secondary in the area. The school does not offer sixth form provision, as its age range ends at 16, so pupils would need to move on to local colleges or school sixth forms for A-Levels. The top-performing peers in the LA, such as Lymm High School, may offer a useful comparison for parents weighing academic outcomes.

For families considering Cardinal Newman, the school's Catholic character and strong facilities are practical draws. It has a chapel on site, which will appeal to those seeking a faith-based environment, and a swimming pool, theatre, and sports hall that support a wide sports programme including rowing, gymnastics, and cross country. The clubs list is varied, with science club, art club, film club, and newspaper among the options. There is no admissions or oversubscription data available, so it is unclear how competitive entry is. The school's size of 855 pupils is moderate for a secondary, and its Good Ofsted rating should reassure parents looking for a solid, well-resourced local option. It will particularly suit families who want a Roman Catholic secondary with a strong extracurricular offer and who are prepared to plan for post-16 transitions elsewhere.

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