St Cecilia's RC High School

About St Cecilia's RC High School

St Cecilia's RC High School sits within the Lancashire local authority, a mixed 11-16 state secondary in the Ribble Valley area. When ranked by Progress 8 among all state secondaries in Lancashire, it places 26th out of 90 schools. In the more immediate Ribble Valley district, it ranks 4th out of 6 schools. The top-performing peers in the wider Lancashire area are Preston Muslim Girls High School, Eden Boys' School, Preston, and Holy Cross Catholic High School, all of which post significantly higher Progress 8 scores. St Cecilia's is a Roman Catholic school with a capacity of 485 but currently houses 570 pupils, making it oversubscribed. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 297 applications for 120 places, with 135 of those as first preferences and 104 offers made to first-preference applicants. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 29.6%, well above the national average.

Academically, St Cecilia's delivers a solid performance. Its Progress 8 score of 0.12 is above the Lancashire local authority average of -0.11, meaning pupils make slightly more progress than their peers across the county. The Attainment 8 score sits at 45.5, and 61.5% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths. The EBacc average point score is 3.82, though only 14.6% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025, the school was judged Good across the board, with personal development rated Outstanding. Behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and quality of education all received Good ratings. The previous inspection in 2016 also rated the school Good overall, so the school has maintained a consistent standard. Parent feedback is broadly positive: 89% of the 87 respondents would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed their child is happy, feels safe, and that the school has high expectations.

The school offers a practical range of facilities including a gymnasium, music rooms, playing fields, tennis courts, a chapel, and an ICT suite. Sports provision is varied, with cricket, netball, rugby, athletics, gymnastics, basketball, cross country, swimming, and dance all on offer. Clubs include choir, film club, Young Enterprise, science club, and debate. For pupils with special educational needs, the school supports a wide range of needs including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, and physical disabilities. However, parent views on SEND support are mixed: while 46% strongly agreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, 25% disagreed and 13% strongly disagreed. The school does not have a sixth form or nursery provision. Given its oversubscription, strong local reputation, and Catholic character, St Cecilia's is a good fit for families in the Ribble Valley and wider Lancashire area who prioritise a faith-based secondary with consistent academic outcomes and a strong emphasis on personal development.

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