St Boniface's RC College Review 2026: Catholic boys’ secondary with a clear improvement trajectory

A school with a long Plymouth story and a very current focus on rebuilding consistency. Founded in 1856, St Boniface’s began life as a Catholic school for boys and has evolved through multiple eras of governance and structure, while retaining a distinctly faith-led identity.

The most recent formal inspection (23 and 24 April 2025) set out a mixed picture: behaviour, personal development, and leadership and management were judged Good, while quality of education was judged Requires improvement. The same report also confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

For parents, the practical headline is that the culture and conduct indicators are stronger than the classroom consistency indicators, and the school is explicitly working on making teaching and curriculum delivery reliably high across subjects.

St Boniface’s describes itself as a Roman Catholic Christian community, with Catholic faith positioned as the context for teaching and learning, rather than a bolt-on to pastoral life. The Catholic life section also sets out a simple organising set of values, linking Bona Facite (Do Good) to “Honour, Integrity, Service”.

The school’s “who it is for” is also clear. It is a boys’ school for ages 11 to 16, and it sits within Plymouth CAST. The same trust context matters day to day because leadership is shared across St Boniface’s and Notre Dame, including the executive headteacher role.

One of the most distinctive cultural elements at St Boniface’s is how it bakes character education into the timetable and house life, rather than relying solely on assemblies. Ubuntu (Year 7) and Kairos (Year 8) are presented as structured programmes that use thematic projects and practical action, with students working in house groups as well as year groups. The Kairos curriculum examples (WaterAid, Lepra, Pay It Forward, Harvest, Acts of Random Kindness) indicate a school that is consciously trying to translate Catholic social teaching into accessible, teen-friendly action.

The April 2025 report also paints a school aiming for calm routines and respectful relationships, with students describing the community as a family and lessons described as calm. That tone matters for families who are weighing up whether a school in a “Requires improvement” phase will feel unsettled. The evidence here points to a school where relationships and order are a platform for improvement, rather than a secondary problem.

On GCSE outcomes, the numbers indicate a school currently performing below many England peers, which aligns with the most recent inspection’s focus on inconsistent curriculum delivery.

• Attainment 8: 40.1

• Progress 8: -0.28

• EBacc average point score: 3.33

• Percentage achieving grades 5+ in the EBacc: 7.6

In FindMySchool’s GCSE ranking (based on official data), St Boniface’s is ranked 3063rd in England and 17th in Plymouth for GCSE outcomes. This places the school below England average overall, and it reinforces the message that the school’s improvement focus is not cosmetic, it is academically necessary.

A final contextual note for families: inspections from September 2024 no longer carry an “overall effectiveness” grade. For St Boniface’s, the April 2025 judgements are therefore best read as a set of category-level signals, with leadership and conduct stronger than teaching consistency.

The school’s improvement agenda is visible in its curriculum language. The April 2025 report describes an increasingly ambitious curriculum, with clearer sequencing of “most important knowledge” within subjects. It also identifies the barrier to faster progress: uneven delivery across curriculum areas, including occasions where tasks lack ambition or purpose, and where checking for understanding is not consistently strong.

Where St Boniface’s stands out is in how it describes the mechanics of curriculum delivery in particular departments. Science, for example, publishes a structured Key Stage 3 sequence (biology, chemistry, physics topics across Years 7 and 8), then a long-run Key Stage 4 plan starting in Year 9 and concluding in spring of Year 11, with an explicit reminder that students need to retain exercise books and master substantial content over time. That kind of transparency tends to correlate with departments that know what “good progression” should look like in practice.

St Boniface’s also signals enrichment that supports learning habits, not just experiences. The same Science page confirms a weekly extra-curricular Science Club for Years 7 and 8, which is useful for confident learners and for students who respond well to hands-on reinforcement.

Finally, the school’s reading culture is treated as a whole-school habit rather than a single initiative. The April 2025 inspection report describes regular reading with tutors and structured support for pupils who have fallen behind.

A key practical reality for families is that St Boniface’s is an 11 to 16 boys’ school, with post-16 routes connected to the wider trust context. The school explains that St Boniface’s and Notre Dame are partnered as single-sex schools with a mixed sixth form at Notre Dame, and the admissions section directs families towards the joint sixth form route.

Because destination statistics are not published in the available dataset for this school, the best evidence-based way to think about “next steps” is through the careers and work-related learning programme. The school states that Year 10 and Year 11 students are offered a one-to-one meeting with a personal careers adviser (Careers South West), and that Year 11 students complete a one-week work placement and undertake mock interview practice with a local employer.

For many families, that kind of planned exposure to work and decision points helps de-risk the move into a sixth form or college setting, particularly for students who need clearer pathways rather than open-ended choice.

St Boniface’s admissions are coordinated through the local authority as part of the normal round, with Plymouth CAST as the admissions authority.

Key dates for Year 7 entry (2026 to 2027 admission year)

The published admissions policy sets out specific timing:

• Applications open: 01 September 2025

• Applications close: 31 October 2025

• Offer decision date: 02 March 2026

• Appeal deadline: 20 April 2026 (with later appeals accepted; hearings targeted by 23 June 2026 where possible)

The policy also states a Year 7 PAN of 80.

Oversubscription and faith priority

St Boniface’s has no admissions catchment area stated in the published policy, and it applies oversubscription criteria that prioritise Catholic looked-after and previously looked-after children, then other Catholic children, then other looked-after and previously looked-after children, followed by additional categories including exceptional social or medical need, siblings, named linked schools, and other faith-related criteria.

For families seeking a place on Catholic grounds, the practical implication is that evidence and supplementary forms matter, and timelines matter. If you are planning a faith-priority application, you will want to read the supplementary documentation requirements early in the autumn term.

Open events

For 2026 entry, the school advertised an Open Evening in late September 2025, including a leadership presentation. This is consistent with the typical pattern of secondary open events running early in the autumn term. Parents considering later entry years should expect similar timing, and should check the school calendar as the new cycle opens.

A practical FindMySchool tip: families can use the Map Search tool to compare likely travel routes and day-to-day logistics across shortlist schools, even where a published “last distance offered” is not available.

St Boniface’s publishes a safeguarding structure that is easy to understand, including named roles for the designated safeguarding lead and deputy designated staff, and a dedicated safeguarding contact route. This matters because clarity of responsibility is one of the simplest indicators of a school taking safeguarding governance seriously.

Pastoral care is described as integral, with a stated emphasis on belonging and working with stakeholders inside and outside the college. The wording is broad, but it is supported by more specific programme design elsewhere, especially Ubuntu and Kairos, which explicitly include anti-bullying, self-esteem, respect, and values education.

SEND support is also described in some detail. The SEND Information Report sets out identification routes, internal referral pathways, quality assurance expectations for classroom strategies, and how transitions are handled, including enhanced transition planning for students with an Education, Health and Care Plan.

This is an area where St Boniface’s does well to name real, student-facing examples rather than relying on generic lists.

Student clubs and enrichment that stand out

• Science Club (Years 7 and 8): positioned as practical and experiment-led, reinforcing curriculum learning through hands-on activity.

• Japanese Club: referenced through curriculum-linked creative projects, including designing crests and making badges or keyrings.

• Creative Writing workshop: a scheduled workshop model is referenced, which suggests a consistent routine rather than occasional events.

• Military Kids’ Club (MKC) Heroes network: a pupil voice and peer-support group for children of service personnel and veterans, supported by the Royal British Legion.

The implication for families is that enrichment is being used to build identity, belonging, and confidence, alongside subject-linked interest.

Sport and fixtures

The PE department states it works with the Plymouth Schools Sports Partnership to support regular fixtures and after-school sports clubs. For sporty students, regular competition tends to be the difference between “sport happens” and “sport is a reliable routine”.

Trips and responsibility

The April 2025 inspection report also highlights trips and positions of responsibility as meaningful parts of the school experience, framed as confidence and resilience building.

The school publishes a clear daily structure. Tutorial begins at 08:50, and the day ends at 15:15, with five teaching periods plus break and lunch. The published total is 6 hours and 25 minutes per day.

Wraparound care is not presented as a standard offer for this setting in the published school day information. Families who need early drop-off or late collection should clarify current arrangements directly before relying on them.

• Quality of education remains the key challenge. Category judgements indicate good leadership and orderly culture, but teaching consistency is still not where it needs to be across subjects.

• Boys-only to 16. If you want co-education before post-16, this will not fit, even though post-16 pathways are linked across the local partnership.

• Catholic ethos is central. Families who are not Catholic can apply, but the school is explicit that Catholic doctrine and practice shape the day-to-day context, and families are expected to respect that.

• Admissions criteria are detailed. Faith priority and supplementary evidence requirements can be decisive in oversubscription scenarios, so families should plan documentation early in the autumn term.

St Boniface’s is best understood as a school with improving culture and leadership foundations, and a clear requirement to turn those foundations into consistently strong classroom delivery. It will suit families who want a Catholic boys’ education with explicit values education through Ubuntu and Kairos, and who value a calm, respectful environment while academic consistency is strengthened. Admission is manageable when families understand the criteria and timelines; the bigger decision is whether your child will thrive while the quality-of-education work continues at pace.