St Joseph's RC High School Review 2026: Catholic 11 to 16 secondary in Horwich with an extended enrichment day

A faith-led secondary where routines, expectations, and community service are treated as part of the education, not an optional extra. The Catholic mission is explicit, and students are expected to respect and participate in the school’s religious life, regardless of their own background.

The most recent inspection evidence points to a school that has strengthened behaviour and curriculum planning since its previous judgement, with safeguarding confirmed as effective. For families, the practical draw is the structure, including a timetabled enrichment slot after lessons and a culture where participation is expected, not merely encouraged.

Catholic identity shapes daily life here in a concrete way. The school describes itself as a Voluntary Aided secondary under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Salford, and its admissions and mission statements make clear that serving the Roman Catholic community is a central purpose. That framing matters for families, because it influences assemblies, prayers, chaplaincy-style activity, and the expectations placed on students around respect and participation.

Pastoral language on the school’s own pages leans heavily on dignity, mutual respect, and responsibility to others. That comes through in how wider development is organised, with a Mission Team structure that includes student-facing groups focused on liturgy, eco activity, service, and equality work. For students who respond well to values-led structure, this tends to feel coherent and purposeful. For students who prefer a more secular school culture, it can feel more directive, particularly when participation in aspects of Catholic life is treated as part of belonging.

Leadership is presented in a direct, personal style, and the headteacher is named consistently across school materials. That clarity is helpful for parents, particularly when looking for stability after a period in which the prior inspection outcome was less favourable than the current picture.

Ranked 2,090th in England and 14th in Bolton for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking), the school’s results sit in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). This is a broadly typical national performance profile rather than a high-performing outlier, and it aligns with a school that serves a local community intake while also being consistently oversubscribed.

On the published GCSE measures available here, the Attainment 8 score is 45.9, and Progress 8 is -0.14. For EBacc, average point score is 3.99 (England average 4.08), and 13.7% of pupils achieve grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure reported. Taken together, that suggests outcomes that are close to national norms, with some scope to improve on progress and EBacc strength.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (18 to 19 March 2025) graded Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, and Leadership and Management as Good.

Curriculum thinking is a key theme in the latest external evidence. In most subjects, the curriculum is described as clear and ambitious, with essential knowledge identified and sequenced so pupils build securely from earlier content before moving on. That kind of sequencing usually benefits students who like clarity and routine, and it reduces the risk of gaps widening quietly over time.

There are also specific improvement points that families should take seriously. In key stage 3, some subjects are identified as not covering content with sufficient breadth and depth, and in a few areas checks on learning do not consistently spot misconceptions or gaps early enough. In practice, that can show up as variation between departments, where a student has a very strong experience in some subjects while finding others less consistently well structured.

Reading support is a notable practical strand. The school is described as having strengthened support for pupils who struggle to read, alongside a well-resourced library and activities designed to promote reading for pleasure. This tends to matter most for students entering Year 7 with weaker fluency, because effective catch-up support early in secondary can have a disproportionate impact on confidence and access to the wider curriculum.

This is an 11 to 16 school with no sixth form, so all students transition to post-16 providers after Year 11. For families, the implication is simple: you are choosing a strong Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 experience, but you should expect a separate decision point at 16.

Careers and next-steps preparation is positioned as an active strand of school life. The latest inspection notes careers guidance as a strength, including mentoring programmes and work placements, which is important given the need for every student to make a post-16 choice at the end of Year 11.

The school also signposts a structured careers offer with drop-in availability and a platform subscription designed to help students compare post-16 pathways. The practical benefit is that this can normalise early thinking about routes such as sixth form, college, and apprenticeships, rather than leaving planning to the final term of Year 11.

Admissions are coordinated through Bolton Local Authority, with applications for secondary transfer typically open from 1 September and closing at 11:59pm on 31 October for the following September intake. For 2026 entry, Bolton Council states the window as 1 September 2025 to 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 2 March 2026 (the next working day after the usual national date).

The school’s own admissions policy for September 2026 sets a published admission number of 210, and it is explicit about priority for looked-after and previously looked-after children, followed by Catholic children within named parish communities and associated primary school links, with other categories following. Where a category is oversubscribed, distance is used as the tie-break, measured as a straight line from home to the school’s main entrance using the local authority’s system.

Demand is consistently strong. For the main entry route reflected there were 516 applications for 212 offers, which is about 2.43 applications per offer, and the school is classified as oversubscribed. First preference demand is also high, with a first-preference ratio of 1.04 relative to offers. Competition for places is therefore the limiting factor, more than willingness to apply.

For families planning ahead, it is sensible to treat admissions as a two-part task: understand the faith and parish-based criteria, and then confirm how the distance tie-break plays out in practice for your address. FindMySchool’s Map Search is the quickest way to sense-check location risk before you commit emotionally to a single option.

Pastoral support is framed as a whole-school responsibility, with specific safeguarding roles and a stated approach to mental wellbeing. The school describes a weekly wellbeing strand delivered during tutor time and a safeguarding team structure with a designated safeguarding lead and deputies.

The inspection evidence also describes a culture where pupils feel safe, know which adults to approach for support, and experience strengthened behaviour routines that support calm classrooms. That combination often matters most for students who are anxious about transition, because predictable routines and clear conduct expectations reduce day-to-day stress.

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Attendance and inclusion are treated as active work rather than a passive expectation, with named internal approaches referenced in the inspection narrative around removing barriers and supporting pupils with additional needs. Families with a child who needs consistent follow-up should look for evidence, at open events and through policy reading, of how these systems are experienced at year-group level, not only how they are designed on paper.

The co-curricular offer is deliberately structured rather than purely optional. The school runs an extended enrichment slot after the formal end of the day, and it states that students must participate in at least one activity each week. The obvious implication is that students can access broader experiences without relying as heavily on parents to organise clubs externally, but it also means students who want to leave immediately every day may feel the routine is less flexible.

Several programmes are distinctive in name and shape. Duke of Edinburgh is offered from Year 10, starting in October and running through to completion by the following June, with training and equipment support referenced by the school. This suits students who gain confidence through practical challenge and shared responsibility, and it can be a real asset for personal statements and interviews later on.

Faith and service activities are organised through a Mission Team model that includes leadership roles and groups such as the ECO group, RISE up, and volunteer-focused roles, alongside liturgy-related activity. For a student who likes purpose-driven involvement, this can provide a clear route into leadership that is aligned to the school’s ethos rather than limited to sport or performing arts.

Academic enrichment is also made concrete in subject areas. In English, the school lists specific activities such as Cakes and Classics, Literature Lovers Club, Big Book Quiz, Creative Writing Club, and Journalism Club or School Newspaper, plus targeted revision sessions. In Business and ICT, students are supported to complete the iDEA Bronze Award as a digital literacy benchmark, with many progressing to Silver. These named programmes are helpful signals for parents because they show enrichment is planned and staffed, not merely aspirational.

The school day is clearly mapped. Students are expected to be on site by 08:25, with the formal day ending at 14:45, followed by an enrichment period running to 15:45.

As a secondary school, traditional wraparound care is not typically framed as “breakfast club” and “after-school club” in the same way as primary settings, and the published model here is instead an extended school day activity slot. Families who need supervision beyond 15:45 should check directly what is available, as this is not set out as a standard provision on the published timetable page.

• Competition for places. Demand is high, with 516 applications for 212 offers in the most recent dataset. Families should treat this as a competitive option and plan realistic back-ups.

• Catholic expectations are real. Admissions and ethos materials emphasise service to the Roman Catholic community and active participation in the school’s religious life. This suits many families, but it is not neutral.

• No sixth form. Every student transitions at 16. That can be a positive reset for some, but it does require earlier planning for post-16 routes.

• Some curriculum inconsistency at Key Stage 3. External evidence points to a small number of subjects where breadth, depth, and assessment checks need further strengthening. This is worth probing by department at open events.

This is a structured, values-driven Catholic secondary where enrichment, service, and clear routines are built into the week rather than left to chance. GCSE outcomes sit around the middle of the England distribution, and the most recent inspection evidence indicates a stronger position than the prior judgement, particularly around culture, curriculum intent, and safeguarding.

It best suits families who actively want a Catholic ethos, value an organised school day with expected participation beyond lessons, and are comfortable planning a separate post-16 move at 16. The main constraint is admission, because local demand is high.