St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy

About St Paul's Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy

St Paul's Catholic School in Leicester has been rated Good by Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2018, and an ungraded visit in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. The most telling academic metric for this 11-18 mixed state secondary is its Progress 8 score of 0.3, which is classified as above average nationally. That means pupils here typically achieve nearly a third of a grade more per subject than students with similar starting points across England. It's a strong result that places the school 10th out of 20 secondaries in the Leicester local authority, and 60th out of 273 schools in the East Midlands region. For context, the average Progress 8 score across Leicester is 0.12, so St Paul's is comfortably outperforming its local peers. The school's Attainment 8 score sits at 50, and 73.4% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths. The sixth form has also been singled out as Outstanding by Ofsted, adding another layer of strength to the school's academic profile.

At Key Stage 5, the sixth form supports 80 students and delivers a points per entry score of 31.78, which equates to a C+ grade on average. The best three A-Levels average out at a grade C, and the school's value-added score of -0.08 is rated as average, meaning students generally achieve in line with expectations. The Progress 8 breakdown shows particularly strong performance in open subjects (0.45) and the EBacc subjects (0.25), while English and maths progress scores are positive but more modest at 0.14 and 0.23 respectively. Just under a third of Key Stage 4 pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects, and 24.5% achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths. The school's EBacc average point score of 4.28 reflects solid mid-range attainment. Compared with its previous Ofsted inspection in 2015, when the school was rated Requires Improvement, the trajectory is clearly upward, with leadership and management now judged Good and sixth form provision Outstanding.

St Paul's is a Roman Catholic school with a chapel on site, and it is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 357 applications for 184 places, with 182 first-preference applications and 165 first-preference offers. That oversubscription ratio of 1.94 tells you this is a popular choice among Leicester families. The school has a wide range of facilities including a theatre, swimming pool, astro turf, science labs, music rooms, and a sixth form centre. Sports offered include rowing, martial arts, gymnastics, and hockey, while clubs range from Model UN and Young Enterprise to gardening and chess. The SEND provision is comprehensive, covering dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health support. With 19% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a diverse intake. For families prioritising strong academic progress, a Catholic ethos, and a sixth form rated Outstanding, St Paul's is a compelling option within Leicester's state secondary landscape.

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