St Mary's Catholic High School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

About St Mary's Catholic High School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Mary's Catholic High School in Chesterfield sits within Derbyshire local authority and is the top-ranked secondary in the area based on Progress 8 scores, placing first out of nine schools in Chesterfield and first out of 46 secondaries across the wider Derbyshire LA. Its closest peers by ranking score are The Ecclesbourne School, Brookfield Community School, and Outwood Academy Newbold, but St Mary's leads the group with a Progress 8 score of 0.5, well above the local authority average of -0.11. The school is one of only two secondaries in Derbyshire rated Outstanding by Ofsted, a grade it has held consistently across its two most recent inspections, the latest of which took place in 2024. Headteacher Maria Dengate leads a mixed Roman Catholic secondary for pupils aged 11 to 18, with 1,358 pupils on roll — above its official capacity of 1,260 — reflecting strong local demand.

Academically, St Mary's delivers results that comfortably exceed national and local benchmarks. Its Progress 8 score of 0.5 is classified as well above average, meaning pupils make significantly more progress than similar students nationally. The Attainment 8 score stands at 56.6, and 83.8% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 63.2% reaching grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 5.03, and 40.2% of pupils entered the EBacc combination of subjects. At sixth form, the school continues to perform strongly: the average points per entry is 39.2, equivalent to a B grade, and the best three A-levels average out at a B. The value-added score of 0.17 is above average, and 28% of entries achieved AAB or higher. In its 2024 Ofsted inspection, every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision — was judged Outstanding.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 494 applications for 206 places, with 257 first-preference applications and an oversubscription ratio of 2.4. Facilities include a sports hall, swimming pool, theatre, chapel, sixth form centre, and dedicated music and science spaces. Sports offered range from hockey and rowing to dance and rugby, while extracurricular clubs include choir, Model UN, Debate, DofE, and an Eco Club. The school supports a wide range of SEND needs, including dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language communication needs, and physical disabilities. St Mary's suits families who want a high-performing Catholic secondary with strong academic outcomes from Year 7 through to sixth form, and who are prepared for a competitive admissions process in a school that is clearly in demand across the Chesterfield area.

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