St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Review 2026: Catholic secondary in Thornham with improving foundations

This is a Catholic 11–16 secondary serving Thornham and wider Rochdale, with a clear faith identity and a strong emphasis on belonging. Worship and Catholic life are visible in day-to-day routines, including regular chapel use and year-group Masses.

Academy conversion means the current school has not yet had a published inspection report under its new registration, so parents are effectively reading the trajectory through the most recent predecessor inspection and the school’s own published structures and policies. The most recent published Ofsted inspection (29 and 30 March 2022) rated the predecessor school Requires Improvement overall, with Personal Development graded Good.

Academically, the numbers suggest a challenging picture in recent cohorts. The school ranks 3,343rd in England and 7th in Rochdale for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). That places it below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure (60th to 100th percentile).

Admissions are competitive at Year 7. For the latest measured cycle 393 applications competed for 183 offers, around 2.15 applications per place, and the school is classed as oversubscribed.

Faith is not a decorative layer here, it shapes expectations, routines, and the language of community life. The school chapel is described as a place of welcome and stillness, used for form chapel assemblies, the Rosary, reflection, and private prayer, with features such as a tabernacle and a remembrance wall. For families who want Catholic worship to be part of a child’s week, that dedicated sacred space matters because it signals that prayer and reflection are built into the rhythm rather than bolted on for special occasions.

There is also evidence of structured, school-wide routines. The curriculum introduction sets out explicit classroom habits such as assigned seating plans and calm transitions between activities. Those operational details may sound small, but they often determine whether classrooms feel settled, whether students know what “good learning behaviour” looks like, and how quickly lessons can get going.

Leadership visibility is clear on the school’s own materials. The website names Mrs E Keenan as Executive Headteacher, and the establishment sits within the St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust. Parents weighing stability will care about both, the named senior leader and the trust context, because that combination typically drives staffing, policies, and improvement support.

A practical note on headship timing. The school does not prominently publish a start date for Mrs Keenan on the main welcome pages. Governance documentation lists Emma Keenan as an ex-officio governor with an appointment date of 03 November 2024, which indicates she was in a formal leadership role by that point.

Catholic ethos often shows up most clearly in how a school talks about personal formation, not only grades. Here, that is reinforced by published Catholic Life and Mission content which references regular collective worship, Mass and chapel assemblies. The implication for families is straightforward: students who are comfortable with faith-led language and regular worship will likely settle more quickly, while families who prefer a more secular daily experience should probe carefully at open events.

The clearest performance signal is the overall GCSE positioning. Ranked 3,343rd in England and 7th in Rochdale for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits below England average on this measure, within the bottom 40% of schools in England (60th to 100th percentile).

Progress 8 is -0.54. In plain terms, this indicates that, on average, students in the measured cohort made less progress than students with similar starting points nationally. For parents, the implication is that support, consistency of teaching, and how well the school matches provision to your child’s needs becomes especially important, because outcomes depend heavily on individual fit and on the effectiveness of classroom delivery across subjects.

Attainment 8 is 37.4. Because Attainment 8 is a composite and context-sensitive measure, many parents find it most useful alongside Progress 8 and the school’s curriculum offer. The same applies to the EBacc indicators shown here: EBacc APS is 3.17, and 6.7% achieved grades 5+ in the EBacc measure included. Read these as signals that EBacc success is a current development priority, rather than an established strength.

It is also worth separating performance metrics from school culture. The most recent published inspection narrative described a welcoming school where pupils felt safe and reported bullying was dealt with quickly, while also noting uneven achievement across subjects and inconsistencies in how well the curriculum was being delivered. That combination is common in schools that have a solid community base but are working to improve consistency of teaching and learning.

Parents comparing schools locally should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to view these outcomes side-by-side and sense-check which nearby options are stronger on progress, attainment, and EBacc participation.

The most helpful way to think about teaching here is through consistency. The published predecessor inspection identified a curriculum that had been made more ambitious, with many subjects organised around essential knowledge, but with teachers at different stages of delivering that curriculum effectively and ensuring pupils revisit and secure learning. In practice, that tends to show up as variation between departments, and sometimes between classes, in how well students retain and build knowledge over time.

The school’s own curriculum materials point to an operational approach designed to reduce friction in lessons. Named routines such as calm transitions and defined seating plans are intended to minimise low-level disruption and maximise learning time. When implemented consistently, those kinds of routines can be particularly helpful for students who benefit from predictability, including many with additional needs, because expectations are clear and repeated in every room.

Reading support is explicitly referenced as a priority in the predecessor inspection, including checks to identify pupils who do not read fluently and targeted support to build phonics knowledge where needed. For parents of children entering Year 7 with weaker reading, this is an important line of enquiry at open evening or transition meetings: how quickly the school assesses reading on entry, what interventions look like in practice, and how progress is communicated.

SEND is framed through inclusion and access. The school’s SEND documentation describes an inclusive approach, with additional transition planning and structured information-sharing from primary schools where needs are identified. The implication is that families should expect a formal process, but they should still ask specific questions: what support looks like in lessons, how it is monitored, and how staff training is kept current.

As an 11–16 school, the main transition point is post-16. The dataset does not provide published leaver-destination percentages for recent cohorts, so it is not appropriate to give numerical claims about sixth form, college, apprenticeships, or employment outcomes.

What can be said with confidence is that students will typically progress to local sixth forms and further education colleges, alongside apprenticeships for those suited to a work-based route. The school publishes careers education guidance and references events such as skills events and college taster days, which suggests a deliberate focus on helping students make informed post-16 choices rather than assuming a single default pathway.

For parents, the practical takeaway is to explore careers and guidance early, not in Year 11 spring. Ask how employer encounters are organised, what support is offered for apprenticeship applications, and how subject choices in Key Stage 4 line up with intended post-16 destinations.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated through Rochdale Local Authority for families living in Rochdale, with the school publishing its own admissions criteria and supplementary faith documentation. The school’s admissions page signposts the relevant policy criteria for 2026–27 and provides a Supplementary Information Form.

For September 2026 entry, Rochdale’s published timeline shows: applications open on 01 September 2025; the closing date is 31 October 2025; the last date for changes of address is 12 December 2025; and offers are issued on 02 March 2026.

Oversubscription is the key theme. With 393 applications and 183 offers, there are around 2.15 applications per place, and the entry route is marked as oversubscribed. In practical terms, families should treat the criteria as the deciding factor, not preference order. Rochdale’s own guidance is explicit that listing a school first does not improve chances if criteria are not met.

Catholic admissions are often misunderstood. Many Catholic schools prioritise baptised Catholic children within defined parishes, then move through other faith or community categories. The school’s published criteria and the diocese guidance are the documents that matter most, and parents should read them early enough to gather required evidence in good time.

FindMySchool’s Map Search is particularly useful for families balancing multiple Rochdale options, because it allows you to check travel time and practical distance trade-offs even when a school does not publish a single fixed catchment boundary.

There is credible evidence of a positive baseline culture around safety and inclusion. In the most recent published inspection, pupils reported feeling safe and said staff dealt with bullying quickly. Safeguarding was judged effective at that inspection.

It is also fair to be candid about behaviour consistency, because it affects learning and wellbeing. The same inspection described improving behaviour overall, but highlighted that a minority of pupils continued to misbehave at social times and that staff consistency in applying behaviour policy needed strengthening. The implication for parents is to ask what has changed since then: how behaviour expectations are taught, how sanctions are applied, and what support exists for students who struggle with self-regulation.

Faith-based pastoral support can be a genuine plus for some students. The chapel being open for prayer, along with a published timetable including Bible study and prayer opportunities, suggests that students who benefit from reflection, mentoring, and a clear moral framework may find the environment grounding. Families should still ask how pastoral systems operate at scale, for example tutor time, heads of year, and how concerns are escalated.

The school provides unusually concrete evidence of enrichment, which makes it easier for parents to understand what is actually on offer rather than relying on generic claims. Across published enrichment timetables, the programme includes clubs such as Lego and Games Club, Gardening Club (meeting at the dome), Dodgeball Club, Art Club, Coding Club, Science Club, Debate Mate, and Mindful Club, alongside sports options including trampolining practice.

These details matter because enrichment is one of the easiest ways for a child to build belonging quickly, especially in Year 7. A student who finds their people through Debate Mate or Coding Club often shows better attendance and better engagement in lessons, because school becomes more than a timetable of subjects. For quieter students, a Mindful Club or a structured Study Hub can offer a low-pressure route into routine and confidence.

The arts and performance strand is also visible through the use of the Drama Hall and references to shows and drama activity in school communications. For families who value confidence-building and public speaking, this is an area worth probing at open evening: what productions run each year, whether participation is open-access, and how the school supports beginners rather than only the already confident.

Clubs change termly, so parents should treat these as examples of the programme’s shape rather than a fixed list. The relevant question is how many clubs run at any one time, how places are allocated, and whether late buses or transport make after-school participation realistic for your child.

The published school day runs from 08:25 registration to 15:00 at the end of Period 5, with break 10:50–11:10 and lunch 13:10–14:00.

Transport is well-documented. A public 409 bus service runs past the school from Rochdale and Oldham bus stations, alongside dedicated school buses serving areas across the borough, with timetables published.

Because this is a secondary school, wraparound care is not typically a standard offer in the way it is for primary schools. The school does not present a single, prominent after-school care model on the core day-to-day pages, so families who need supervised provision beyond 15:00 should ask directly what is available outside clubs and interventions.

• Academic outcomes are a current development area. The school’s GCSE positioning sits below England average, and Progress 8 is -0.54. Families should ask how teaching consistency is being strengthened across departments, and what support exists for students who need to catch up.

• Inspection evidence sits with the predecessor school. The current academy has no published inspection report yet under its new registration, so the most recent published inspection evidence is March 2022 for the predecessor school, rated Requires Improvement overall. Parents should explore what has changed since conversion, particularly curriculum delivery and behaviour consistency.

• Catholic admissions criteria can be document-heavy. If faith priority applies, families may need supplementary forms and evidence. Leave time to gather documentation well ahead of the 31 October 2025 closing date for September 2026 entry.

• After-school participation depends on transport. There is strong enrichment provision, but students relying on buses need to check whether late transport aligns with clubs.

St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy is best understood as a faith-centred community school working to improve consistency of outcomes. Catholic life is a clear anchor, with an active chapel and regular worship opportunities, and there is tangible evidence of structured routines and a broad enrichment menu.

Who it suits: families seeking a Roman Catholic secondary where worship, values, and community identity are part of everyday life, and where a child will benefit from clear routines and co-curricular belonging. The key question for many parents will be academic trajectory, so the most important next step is to test, at open evening and through detailed questions, how the school is securing consistency in teaching and behaviour and how it supports students who need to accelerate progress.