St John Fisher Catholic College Review 2026: A Catholic secondary with a strong sixth form focus

A clear Catholic identity shapes daily life here, with admissions criteria that prioritise baptised Catholic children and a Supplementary Information Form as part of the process.

Academically, outcomes sit around the middle of the pack nationally at GCSE level, while post 16 results are a harder sell compared with England averages. The sixth form, however, comes through as a consistent strength in external evaluation, with students reporting stronger consistency in teaching and better guidance on what comes next.

Leadership is stable, with Mr Garrett Murray named as headteacher on official records and the school’s own information.

The culture is framed around The Fisher Way, with a push for readiness, respect, curiosity, responsibility, pride and resilience as the shared language for expectations. In practice, that values framework matters most in two places, corridors and classrooms. Where routines are applied consistently, students get calmer lessons and more time to learn. Where routines vary, the school can feel less predictable from one class to the next, which is one of the recurring themes in external evaluation.

Faith is not a bolt on. Families should expect a Catholic ethos that is intended to permeate day to day activity, and the admissions documentation is explicit that the school exists primarily to serve Catholic families while remaining open to applicants from other backgrounds within the published criteria.

The sixth form atmosphere is the most consistently positive strand. Students there describe stronger teaching consistency and better guidance around post 18 planning, and that difference is important when weighing the school as an 11 to 18 option rather than purely a Key Stage 3 and 4 choice.

Ofsted’s inspection on 13 December 2023 rated the school Requires Improvement overall, with Good for personal development and Good for sixth form provision.

GCSE outcomes and context

At GCSE level, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 43.5, below the England average of 45.9. Progress 8 is -0.4, which indicates students, on average, make less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally. EBacc attainment is also comparatively weaker, with an average EBacc APS of 3.66 versus an England average of 4.08, and 7.6% achieving grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure captured here.

On headline placement, St John Fisher Catholic College is ranked 2,678th in England and 18th in Newcastle for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), which corresponds to performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

What that means in parent terms is that the school is not operating at the high performing end of the national distribution for GCSE outcomes, and families should focus less on whether results look “selective school strong” and more on whether the school’s curriculum, behaviour consistency and support structures match their child’s learning profile.

A-level outcomes and context

At A level, the grade profile is modest compared with England averages. The proportion of A* grades is 0.87%, A grades 6.96%, B grades 23.48%, and A* to B combined 31.3%. England averages used here are 23.6% for A* to A and 47.2% for A* to B.

Rank-wise, the sixth form is placed 2,166th in England and 20th in Newcastle for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), which sits in the lower-performing band nationally.

This is where nuance matters. External evaluation recognises that the sixth form curriculum is more effectively designed and delivered than the main school, even while published outcomes remain low, which suggests improvement work is underway but not yet fully reflected in headline results.

Teaching quality is described as variable across the main school, and that variability is the core practical issue families need to understand. When teachers set ambitious tasks that build on what students already know, learning moves forward well. When checking for understanding is weaker, gaps persist and students can drift into incomplete work that does not consolidate key knowledge.

Reading is also a key strategic area. The school has identified weaker readers and put support in place, but the impact is described as insufficient for some older students. For parents, the implication is straightforward. If your child is a reluctant reader or has a history of literacy catch up, ask explicitly how support is targeted in Years 9 to 11, not only in Year 7 transition.

SEND identification is described as accurate, with useful information provided to staff, but adaptations are not consistently implemented for students without Education, Health and Care Plans, which can affect outcomes for those learners.

With no published Russell Group breakdown found in official school materials during this research, the most useful destinations picture comes from the official destinations dataset provided. For the 2023/24 leavers cohort, 62% progressed to university, 19% entered employment, 3% started apprenticeships, and 3% went to further education.

Oxbridge numbers are small, which is typical for many mainstream state schools. In the measurement period captured, two students applied to Oxford or Cambridge, one received an offer, and one secured a place, at Cambridge. That does not define the sixth form, but it does show that there is an academic pathway for the highest attainers alongside more typical routes into university, employment and apprenticeships.

The more important practical question for most families is guidance quality. External evaluation indicates students value the advice and guidance they receive about post 18 destinations, and that is a meaningful positive when choosing an 11 to 18 school where your child may stay for sixth form.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through the local authority route, with Staffordshire’s timetable for September 2026 entry opening on 1 September 2025 and closing on 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 2 March 2026.

Because this is a Catholic school with its own admissions authority arrangements, families should also expect an additional faith based form where relevant. The published arrangements state that a Supplementary Information Form must be returned directly to the school by the same closing date, and that evidence of Catholic baptism or reception into the Church is required for children to be considered within the Catholic criteria.

Oversubscription criteria prioritise, in order, looked after baptised Catholic children, baptised Catholic children attending named feeder primaries, and other baptised Catholic children, before moving into non Catholic categories. Named feeder schools listed include St Mary’s Catholic Primary School (Newcastle-under-Lyme) among others, which is important for families seeking a clearer route into Year 7.

Sixth form entry is open to internal and external applicants, with applications made directly to the school. The school also operates within a broader post 16 context branded as Trinity Sixth Form, so families should confirm course availability and entry requirements early in Year 11, especially if your child intends to join from another school.

Parents weighing competitiveness should treat distance and last offered mileage cautiously here, because no last distance data was available in the provided dataset for this school. In practice, faith priority, feeder links and siblings can be more influential than distance for many Catholic voluntary aided style arrangements.

A practical step is to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check your exact distance and compare it with any published allocation information in the local authority’s annual allocations notes.

Safeguarding is reported as effective, and students describe having a trusted adult to speak with if worried.

Personal development is a stronger area, with a comprehensive personal, social, health and economic education programme described as well resourced. Students are also reported to discuss protected characteristics maturely, which usually correlates with well structured pastoral curriculum delivery.

The main wellbeing risk factor is not an unsafe culture, it is inconsistency. When behaviour expectations are applied unevenly, some lessons are disrupted, and that can affect both learning and day to day calm. Families should ask direct questions about how behaviour routines are implemented across departments and how the school supports students who struggle to meet expectations.

The enrichment story is a genuine positive. Students can access activities that include Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, an ethos team, a dance group, a sixth form robotics group, and an eco-stewardship team, alongside residential trips.

The published weekly timetable for activities shows practical breadth rather than generic claims, including supervised library study after school, dance sessions, and sport such as rugby.

For families, the implication is twofold. First, extracurricular can be a stabilising anchor for students whose motivation improves when school has strong identity groups (sport, leadership, service, performance, STEM). Second, participation can be an important protective factor in a school where classroom experience may feel variable, because belonging often comes from teams and clubs as much as from lessons.

If your child is considering sixth form, ask how enrichment links to leadership roles and post 18 preparation. The external picture is that advice and guidance is valued post 16, and enrichment is one of the best places for that guidance to become practical experience (work related opportunities, responsibility roles, and extended projects).

The school day starts with the first bell at 8:40am, followed by morning formation and a dedicated reading slot before lessons move into the main timetable.

Term dates for 2025/26 are published on the school’s information pages, which is useful for families coordinating travel and holiday planning around inset days.

For transport planning, most families will be relying on local bus routes and walking or drop off patterns around Ashfields New Road, and it is sensible to check journey time at peak school traffic.

• Behaviour consistency. External evaluation highlights that behaviour expectations are not applied consistently, and some lessons are disrupted. This matters most for students who need predictable routines to stay engaged.

• Outcomes at Key Stage 4 and post 16. GCSE results sit below England averages on key measures, and A level outcomes are also below England averages. Families should look closely at subject level support, not only headline grades.

• Reading support beyond Year 7. Support for older students who struggle with reading is described as not yet having sufficient impact. If literacy catch up is relevant for your child, ask what changes have been made since the latest inspection.

• Catholic admissions documentation. The Supplementary Information Form and baptismal evidence can materially affect priority. Families who miss paperwork deadlines can unintentionally reduce their chances of admission.

St John Fisher Catholic College is best understood as an 11 to 18 Catholic school with clear strengths in personal development, enrichment, and a sixth form that is viewed more positively than the main school experience. It suits families seeking a faith anchored education and students who will benefit from clubs, service opportunities and structured pastoral curriculum.

The key trade off is consistency. Academic outcomes and classroom experience vary, and that is the central issue to probe during visits and conversations with staff. For the right student, particularly one motivated by belonging and enrichment, it can be a solid fit. For students who need uniformly calm lessons and highly consistent teaching across subjects, families should investigate carefully before committing.