St Peter's Catholic Comprehensive School Review 2026: An all-through Catholic school with two sites and a large sixth form

For families who like the idea of continuity, this is a rare local option: a Catholic all-through school educating children from age 4 through to sixth form, split across a primary site and a secondary site. The story behind that structure is long, beginning with the Jesuits opening a boys’ school in Southbourne in 1936 and later passing it to the De La Salle Brothers, before a 1980 merger shaped the comprehensive school families recognise today.

The latest Ofsted inspection (September 2023) judged the school Good overall, with Good grades across early years, sixth form, and the main judgement areas.

Catholic identity is not an add-on here, it is the organising thread that runs from early years through to sixth form. The school’s historical narrative is explicit about its roots, first as a Jesuit-founded boys’ school, then under the trusteeship of the De La Salle Brothers, and later as part of a wider Catholic secondary reorganisation in the Bournemouth area. That heritage still shows up today in the language used across school life, and in the expectation that families who are not Catholic still respect and participate in the school’s liturgical and values-based routines.

The headteacher is Benedict Doyle (also presented on the school website as Mr Ben Doyle). Governance documents record his start date as September 2019.

One cultural feature worth highlighting is how the all-through model changes the feel of transition points. Reception and primary routines are designed to settle younger pupils quickly; the secondary phase then brings a more specialist, subject-led experience, and the sixth form adds both independence and responsibility. Formal reviews describe strong relationships and a tight community feel across phases, with calm day-to-day behaviour as the norm.

Because this is an all-through school, parents tend to look for consistency across phases rather than a single headline statistic. The primary outcomes are the clearest strength in the published dataset. In 2024, 83.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, compared with an England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 27% achieved greater depth across reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%. Reading and mathematics scaled scores were both 106, and grammar, punctuation and spelling was 106, all pointing to a strong core curriculum for Key Stage 2 leavers.

In the FindMySchool rankings (based on official data), the primary phase is ranked 5,506th in England and 9th locally (Bournemouth). That sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is a reminder that rank position reflects the full national distribution and that small local differences can move schools up or down materially year to year.

At GCSE, the most useful headline metrics are Attainment 8 (49) and Progress 8 (+0.15). A positive Progress 8 indicates students, on average, make above-average progress from their starting points. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking places the school 1,807th in England and 9th locally (Bournemouth), again in line with the middle 35% of schools in England by this measure.

A-level outcomes are more mixed. 40.76% of A-level entries achieved A* to B, compared with an England average of 47.2%. The FindMySchool A-level ranking is 1,595th in England and 6th locally (Bournemouth), which sits below England average overall (60th percentile and lower).

For parents comparing nearby options, this is a school where the primary story looks stronger than the post-16 story in the published outcomes. FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you sanity-check how these phase-by-phase results sit against other realistic shortlists in the Bournemouth area.

The all-through structure creates both opportunity and complexity. On the opportunity side, there is scope for curriculum coherence, shared expectations, and earlier access to specialist teaching. Formal reviews describe an ambitious curriculum, strong early reading routines, and generally consistent checking for understanding so teachers know when pupils are ready to move on.

Where the complexity comes in is consistency across phases and subjects. The most recent inspection narrative highlights that curriculum planning and implementation are stronger in most subjects than in a minority of areas, and that some primary humanities curriculum sequencing needs further development so that knowledge builds more reliably from early years through to key stage 2. That is not a trivial point in an all-through school, because one of the main benefits families expect is smooth curricular progression.

At sixth form, the description is of purposeful independent work and high expectations from staff. Students are expected to manage deadlines, sustain wider reading, and use independent study time properly, which tends to suit organised learners who want a structured bridge to university, training, or employment routes.

The sixth form is large enough to support varied next steps, and the published destination data confirms a mixed progression picture rather than a single dominant route. For the 2023-24 cohort, 44% progressed to university, 31% moved into employment, 8% started apprenticeships, and 3% went into further education. That blend can appeal to families who want a sixth form that takes vocational and employment outcomes seriously alongside university preparation.

For families specifically interested in highly selective university pathways, the Oxbridge pipeline exists but is small in the published data. Over the measurement period, nine applications were made to Oxford or Cambridge combined, with one offer and one acceptance recorded. That profile suggests an option for individual high-achievers, rather than a sixth form whose identity is built around Oxbridge volume.

The school’s own published sixth form information focuses more on application process and guidance materials than on destination statistics, so the destination picture above is the most concrete numerical view available.

Admissions work differently depending on the entry point, and families considering an all-through school should treat each entry year separately.

Reception and primary entry (age 4)

Applications in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area are coordinated through the local authority. For the 2026-27 intake, applications open on 1 November 2025 and the national closing date is 15 January 2026.

Year 7 entry (age 11)

The local authority coordinated scheme shows applications open on 1 September 2025, with the main closing date 31 October 2025 for September 2026 entry. Offer notifications for on-time secondary applications are issued on 02 March 2026.

Catholic admissions documentation

The school is explicit that if families want an application considered under faith criteria, supplementary religious documentation must be received by the school by the deadline, and it asks families not to email these documents. That practical requirement matters, particularly for October deadlines that can coincide with half term.

Sixth form (Year 12)

Sixth form admissions are handled under a separate policy, with a published admission number for external students of 100. The policy also makes clear that offers depend on course viability and availability, and that oversubscription can use sibling priority followed by distance to the school. The deadline itself is referenced as being published on the school website, rather than fixed in the policy text.

Demand and competition

Published demand indicators reinforce that entry is competitive. For the primary entry route there were 122 applications for 59 offers (2.07 applications per place). For the Year 7 entry route, there were 455 applications for 171 offers (2.66 applications per place). These ratios align with an oversubscribed picture, where realistic planning includes a fallback and careful attention to criteria and deadlines.

Parents should use FindMySchoolMap Search to check their precise home-to-gate distance and to understand how realistic any “nearby” assumption is, particularly because admission patterns can shift each year even when policy stays stable.

Pastoral support is closely tied to Catholic life here, with chaplaincy presented as a resource for students, families and staff, including support through difficult periods as well as broader spiritual development. The school states it has two chaplains and describes chaplaincy as a day-to-day presence rather than an occasional service.

Formal external review content describes a generally calm culture: bullying is reported as rare, and when issues arise, pupils feel confident adults will help resolve them. This is complemented by structured expectations and a strong emphasis on relationships across the phases.

The September 2023 inspection confirmed safeguarding arrangements as effective.

Performing arts is a defining pillar, and the physical anchor for that is the De La Salle Theatre. The school explicitly highlights this as a key resource used both for school productions and for community use. For children who enjoy performance, that matters because it supports a proper production culture, not simply occasional assemblies.

The extracurricular programme is broad, but the most useful way to understand it is through named examples. In chaplaincy, students can join Big Questions Club, Lasallian Leaders (a student leadership group linked to chaplaincy), and a Prayer Group that uses art, craft, meditation and music as part of reflection. Those are concrete options that reinforce that Catholic life is active rather than symbolic.

Music provision is also unusually detailed. The school describes specialist peripatetic tuition and lists structured opportunities such as Concert Band, a Jazz Collective, Vox Vocal Ensemble, and a choir programme by year group. For students, the implication is that music is a serious co-curricular pathway with rehearsal expectations and public performances, rather than an informal lunchtime club.

For younger pupils, Forest School is positioned as part of personal development, with a focus on confidence, appropriate risk-taking, problem-solving and relationship building. That kind of outdoor learning can be a strong fit for children who learn best through doing, especially in early primary years.

The school day is published as starting at 8:50am, with finish times shown as 3:15pm for the secondary phase and 3:20pm for sixth form.

Transport information is published with school-specific bus provision. The school states that services are provided by Morebus and lists routes including the 85 and 86 services. For families managing travel from beyond Southbourne, this is one of the practical advantages of a larger all-through school, it is more likely to have transport options that smaller schools cannot sustain.

Because the school includes a primary phase, parents often ask about wraparound care. Details are not clearly set out in the sources reviewed here, so families should check directly with the school for breakfast and after-school care availability and booking arrangements.

• Admissions are deadline-sensitive, especially for faith criteria. The school is explicit that supplementary religious documentation must be received by the relevant deadline and that emailed copies are not accepted for this purpose. That is easy to miss in a busy autumn term, but it can affect how an application is prioritised.

• Demand is real, even before criteria are applied. The published data shows oversubscription on both the primary entry route (2.07 applications per offer) and the Year 7 route (2.66 applications per offer). Families should plan on the basis that a nearby address alone may not be enough without aligning to the school’s criteria.

• Key stage strengths are uneven. Primary outcomes compare very favourably with England averages, but the post-16 outcomes are below England average on the A* to B measure. That does not make the sixth form weak, but it does mean families should look closely at subject fit, teaching strength in the intended A-levels, and the pastoral and careers offer.

• An all-through model needs active phase alignment. The most recent formal review points to a need for stronger cohesion between phases in some areas of planning and evaluation. Families who value a seamless 4-18 journey should ask specifically how leadership keeps curriculum and expectations aligned from early years through to key stage 5.

This is a substantial all-through Catholic school offering continuity from Reception to sixth form, with strong primary outcomes in the published results and a well-developed co-curricular identity anchored by chaplaincy, music, and the De La Salle Theatre. It suits families who want a faith-grounded education, value a single community across multiple phases, and are organised enough to handle deadlines and documentation in an oversubscribed admissions environment. The main challenge is securing entry at the relevant point, rather than what follows once a place is in hand.