Derby Cathedral School

About Derby Cathedral School

Derby Cathedral School is a Church of England secondary that clearly resonates with local families. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 437 applications for 180 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.43. Of those, 173 families put it as their first preference, and 142 of those were offered a place. That level of demand suggests a school that parents in Derby are actively choosing, even though it doesn't have the highest academic rankings in the area. The school is led by headteacher Andy Brown and currently has 1,145 pupils on roll, operating slightly below its full capacity of 1,260. It's a mixed, state secondary with a sixth form, and it serves a community where 52.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. The most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2023, rated the school Good across all categories, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership.

Academically, the school's Progress 8 score of -0.69 is below the local authority average of -0.31, placing it 12th out of 15 schools in Derby and in the bottom 50 nationally. That score means pupils here make less progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSEs than the average pupil in England. The Attainment 8 score is 40.5, and 34.3% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is 39.3%, with 14.6% achieving the full EBacc at grade 5 or above. In the East Midlands, the school ranks 251st out of 273 schools by Progress 8. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Landau Forte College, 1.4 km away, which may be a consideration for families prioritising top-tier academic outcomes. For context, the top-performing school in the local authority, Littleover Community School, has a Progress 8 score of 0.46.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including a theatre, chapel, gymnasium, astro turf, and playing fields, plus a dedicated Sixth Form Centre. Sports provision is strong, with options like rowing, martial arts, and swimming alongside more traditional offerings. There are also plenty of clubs, from Model UN and Debate to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and Young Enterprise. The school's SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and physical disabilities among others. This makes it a potentially strong fit for families whose children need additional support within a mainstream setting. Given its oversubscription, it's a school that local parents clearly value, and it may particularly suit families looking for a faith-based, inclusive secondary with a sixth form and a wide extracurricular offer, even if its academic outcomes are below the local average.

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