St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley

About St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley

St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School in Crawley sits within the West Sussex local authority, where it ranks 26th out of 42 secondary schools on Progress 8. Among its immediate peers in the same area, the top-performing schools are St Oscar Romero Catholic School, St Philip Howard Catholic School, and Shoreham Academy, all of which post stronger Progress 8 scores. The school itself is the third-ranked secondary in the Crawley borough, out of seven, placing it in the middle of the local pack. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 confirmed a Good rating overall, with leadership and management judged Outstanding. That marks a clear improvement from the school's previous graded inspection in 2012, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The school remains heavily oversubscribed: for 185 places in the 2025/26 intake, it received 776 applications, with 300 first-preference requests and 182 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 4.19 applicants per place.

Academically, St Wilfrid's sits close to the national average on most headline measures. Its Progress 8 score of -0.08 is slightly below the West Sussex local authority average of 0.03, but the banding is classed as Average, and the confidence interval spans from -0.31 to 0.14, meaning the true figure could be above or below zero. Attainment 8 stands at 49, and 77.3% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though the figure drops to 48.7% at grade 5 or above. EBacc entry is low at 12.3%, and the EBacc average point score is 4.05. At sixth form, the school's value-added score is 0.1, also classed as Average, with students averaging a C grade per entry and 30.45 points per entry. The best three A-levels average out at a C grade, and 13.9% of entries achieved AAB or higher. The sixth form provision was previously rated as Requires Improvement in 2009, but the most recent ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good overall.

The school offers a broad set of facilities including science labs, a swimming pool, tennis courts, a chapel, and a dedicated sixth form centre. Sports on offer include cricket, rowing, rugby, netball, and cross country, while clubs range from Debate and Model UN to Coding, Eco Club, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. With 15.5% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a diverse intake. St Wilfrid's is a Roman Catholic comprehensive for ages 11 to 18, and its oversubscription figures suggest strong local demand. It will suit families who want a faith-based secondary with a good Ofsted rating, a solid sixth form, and a wide range of extracurricular activities, particularly those who value leadership rated Outstanding and a school that has improved significantly since its previous inspection.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About St Wilfrid's Catholic Comprehensive School, Crawley

Helpful Guides for Parents