Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary Review 2026: Catholic comprehensive with a clear community spine

A Catholic academy that serves families across Redcar and Cleveland, this is a school where faith and day-to-day expectations are closely linked. Prayer, service, and a structured rewards culture sit alongside a curriculum that aims to build secure knowledge over five years, from Year 7 through Year 11. Leadership stability has strengthened in recent years, with the current headteacher, Louise Dwyer, recorded in official school registers as taking up post from 01 September 2022.

Academic outcomes place the school broadly in line with the middle group of secondary schools in England, rather than at the very top or bottom. The more distinctive selling points are the Catholic character, a calm feel to routines, and an emphasis on belonging through a named house system.

The clearest statement of identity is spiritual, rather than academic branding. Catholic life is not treated as an add-on; it is integrated through chaplaincy, a dedicated chapel space, and a consistent language of service. The school’s own framing leans heavily on community, resilience, and responsibility, which tends to appeal to families who want clear values that translate into daily behaviour standards.

The chapel is positioned as a central place for both prayer and reflection, including support for students who need a quiet moment during a busy day. That matters because it signals a pastoral model that is not purely reactive. When faith schools work well for families, it is often because the ethos becomes a shared vocabulary for staff, pupils, and parents, particularly around relationships and conduct.

Belonging is also reinforced structurally through houses, with all students allocated to a house from Year 7 and remaining in it through Year 11. Houses include Romero, Bakhita, Lisieux, John Paul II, Kolbe, and Soubirous. In practice, that sort of design can give children an immediate smaller community inside a larger secondary, which is helpful for transition and can reduce anonymity for quieter students.

Results place the school in a broadly typical performance bracket for England, with some measures showing relative strengths and others pointing to areas that need careful management.

Rankings provide the simplest high-level read. Ranked 1732nd in England and 3rd in Redcar for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), this sits in line with the middle 35% of secondary schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). For parents, that generally means outcomes are neither consistently elite nor persistently weak, and the experience a child has will often depend on how well the school’s curriculum structure and pastoral systems match their needs.

On headline GCSE indicators, the Attainment 8 score is 48.6. Progress 8 is -0.21, which suggests that, on average, students make slightly below average progress from their starting points. The implication is practical: students who are already organised and well-supported at home may track steadily, while those who need more intensive catch-up and consistency can be more sensitive to variability between subjects.

EBacc information gives a slightly more granular lens. The school’s average EBacc points score is 4.12, compared with an England average of 4.08. That is a modest advantage. However, the percentage achieving grade 5 or above in the EBacc is 16.4%, which points to a smaller proportion reaching stronger outcomes across that suite. For families with a strong academic focus on languages and humanities, it is worth exploring how the school builds EBacc pathways from Key Stage 3 and how it supports students who are capable but less confident.

The latest Ofsted inspection, completed on 12 July 2022, judged the school Good across all areas. The same report confirmed safeguarding arrangements were effective.

The curriculum narrative is about sequencing, retention, and deliberate revisiting, rather than acceleration for its own sake. In science, for example, the published approach describes interleaving and planned return to prior content before moving on, with regular low-stakes checks used to identify misconceptions. It is an approach that suits students who benefit from clear routines and repeated practice, particularly in knowledge-heavy subjects.

There are also signs of cross-department coherence. The science curriculum explicitly references alignment with mathematics so that shared quantitative techniques are taught consistently, which can reduce the common problem of students learning a method one way in maths and a different way in science.

Religious Education is structured as a five-year journey, with Key Stage 3 themes designed to build into GCSE work. For a Catholic school, this matters because it avoids the “bolt-on” feel that can occur when RE is treated as a compliance subject. Families who value faith formation alongside qualifications will likely see this as a positive.

Enrichment is described across departments, including subject-level activities such as workshops, seminars, science fairs, visits, and guest speakers. Where that becomes meaningful is in whether these opportunities are accessible to the broad middle of the cohort, not only to the most confident. Parents should ask how the school selects participants for trips and events, and what support exists to ensure disadvantaged pupils participate fully.

This is an 11 to 16 school, so the key destination question is post-16 transition rather than university pipelines. The school signposts a careers model that includes structured advice and guidance and promotes a range of routes, including apprenticeships and technical education pathways alongside sixth form and college.

In practical terms, families should evaluate two things early, ideally from Year 9 onwards. First, how the options process supports progression into the right post-16 courses, particularly for students likely to choose vocational or mixed pathways. Second, how the school’s careers programme connects students to local labour market information and employer encounters, which can be a differentiator in an area where travel-to-study patterns may be more local.

For parents, the key implication is to treat Year 11 as a managed transition rather than a cliff edge. A good 11 to 16 school makes post-16 planning feel routine and supported. When it is weak, families end up doing too much of the planning alone.

Year 7 applications are coordinated through the local authority process for Redcar and Cleveland, with a published closing date of 31 October for September entry. For the September 2026 intake, the local authority timetable also sets out when application materials are issued and when offers are released.

Because this is a Catholic school, families should pay close attention to supplementary evidence requirements. The school advises that its oversubscription criteria are applied using a Catholic application form, and it expects applicants to submit the completed form and any required evidence directly to the academy so it can be considered during allocations. That point is easy to miss, and missing it can affect priority if the school is oversubscribed.

Open evenings for secondary transfer are typically scheduled in September and October. Dates vary year to year, so it is sensible to check in early autumn of the year before entry rather than waiting until the October deadline.

If you are comparing several schools, the FindMySchoolMap Search tool is useful for mapping likely travel patterns and understanding how realistic daily logistics are, particularly if siblings attend different sites.

Pastoral systems tend to reflect the school’s values-based framing. The rewards culture is designed around house points and clear thresholds, which can be motivating for students who respond to recognition and visible progress markers. Because all students are placed into houses for the full Year 7 to Year 11 journey, staff can use the house structure for support, identity, and healthy competition.

Safeguarding practice is described in formal documentation as a shared responsibility and is supported by designated safeguarding leadership. For parents, the important practical question is not simply whether safeguarding is effective, but how it feels in daily life. Schools that do this well are proactive about online safety, peer-on-peer issues, and early help referrals, rather than waiting for concerns to escalate.

Bullying is a useful reality check. Official inspection findings acknowledge that some students report bullying can happen at times, while also indicating that staff do not tolerate it and respond quickly. The best way to test this is through asking specific questions at open events: how incidents are logged, how patterns are tracked, and how the school communicates outcomes to families.

The school’s wider offer is organised around three pillars: faith and service, belonging through houses, and enrichment connected to curriculum areas and careers.

Catholic life provides a natural framework for service activity. Students are encouraged to take part in charitable work and community-focused projects, which can be particularly beneficial for teenagers who gain confidence through doing something purposeful rather than purely competitive. The presence of chaplaincy and a chapel space makes it easier for students to engage with reflective activities and structured opportunities to contribute.

The house system also drives participation. Houses such as Romero, Bakhita, Lisieux, John Paul II, Kolbe, and Soubirous create a setting for cross-year competitions and events. Even when the activity itself is not a child’s main interest, students often participate because it is tied to house identity and points. That can be a quiet strength for children who would not join a club for its own sake but will join in for their house.

Subject enrichment is a third strand. Science describes an approach that includes trips, workshops, seminars, and fairs, plus additional projects integrated into Years 7 to 9, often linked to contemporary issues in the wider world. The implication for students is that learning is intended to feel connected to real themes, such as sustainability and biodiversity, rather than confined to exam technique.

Families comparing several schools can use the FindMySchool Local Hub comparison tools to look at outcomes and context side-by-side, then focus visits on what differentiates culture and support.

The compulsory school day for Years 7 to 11 is published as starting at 8:30am and finishing at 2:35pm. That earlier finish can be helpful for some families, but it makes after-school routines and transport planning more important, especially if a child relies on public transport or a school bus.

Transport options include local bus links and rail access into Redcar, with the school also describing an organised bus arrangement for some routes, subject to demand. If your child will travel independently, it is worth doing a trial run at the same time of day, since winter travel conditions and timetable changes can alter journey reliability.

• Performance is mid-pack in England. GCSE rankings place the school in line with the middle 35% of secondary schools in England. For highly academic children, the right question is whether subject stretch, EBacc planning, and teaching consistency match their ambitions.

• Progress is slightly below average. A Progress 8 score of -0.21 indicates that, on average, students make slightly below average progress from their starting points. Families may want to probe how the school supports students who are capable but need additional structure.

• Catholic criteria can shape priority. Admissions use a Catholic application form to apply oversubscription criteria. Families who are not Catholic should read the admissions policy carefully and understand how priorities are applied in practice.

• Information on clubs can be harder to pin down. The school references enrichment widely across departments and house competitions, but some activity detail is published through documents that may be less accessible. Parents should ask for a current term schedule of activities and typical participation expectations.

A values-led Catholic comprehensive that puts community and belonging front and centre. The house system, chaplaincy, and consistent routines help many students settle well, particularly those who thrive in structured environments and benefit from a clear pastoral spine. Academic outcomes are broadly typical for England, with a small EBacc advantage in average points but slightly below average progress overall. Best suited to families who want a Catholic ethos integrated into daily school life, and who are prepared to engage actively with learning routines through Years 10 and 11.