All Saints' Catholic High School Review 2026: Catholic 11 to 18 provision in Heeley with a large sixth form and strong demand

All Saints’ Catholic High School is an 11 to 18 Catholic secondary in the Heeley area of Sheffield, with a sizeable sixth form and a long-established place in the city’s Catholic education network. The current school was established in September 1976 through the merger of St Pauls School (on the current site) and De La Salle College from Pitsmoor, which still shapes the school’s alumni identity and local footprint.

Leadership is stable. Sean Pender has been headteacher since September 2017, and the role is clearly embedded in the school’s public-facing communications and statutory information.

The latest Ofsted inspection (10 to 11 October 2023, published 28 November 2023) confirmed that the school continues to be Good.

Demand is a defining feature. For Year 7 entry, the most recent application cycle shows 494 applications for 204 offers, which is consistent with an oversubscribed Catholic school serving a wide urban catchment.

The school’s Catholic identity is not treated as a bolt-on. The mission and values are framed in explicitly Catholic language, with a clear emphasis on service, respect and shared responsibility across a diverse intake. The way the values are expressed matters here: they combine high aspirations with social and relational expectations, including respect for others and for the environment, and an expectation that families understand and support the school’s ethos.

A single line captures the tone the school is aiming for: Fortis in Fide (Strong in Faith). It appears in school publications and sits comfortably alongside day-to-day messages about learning, routines and belonging.

The timetable structure also tells you something about the operational culture. A five-period day for Years 7 to 11 with a sixth period for Post 16 creates a clear distinction between compulsory schooling and sixth form expectations. Students are expected to manage additional independent study, enrichment and leadership responsibilities alongside timetabled lessons.

In practice, parents tend to experience the atmosphere through three recurring touchpoints: orderly starts and transitions, a visible pastoral layer running through tutor time and assemblies, and a strong calendar of enrichment that is linked to personal development rather than just recreation. The school’s own materials place significant weight on positive relationships and on consistency in routines, which aligns with how many large urban secondaries keep behaviour stable and learning time protected.

The headline academic story is “steady, broadly middle-of-the-pack in England at GCSE; weaker relative outcomes at A-level”. It is important to interpret that fairly. This is a large, mixed comprehensive serving a diverse city intake and running both a full key stage 4 offer and a sixth form. Outcomes are rarely dominated by a single narrative.

GCSE performance and ranking context

Ranked 1,768th in England and 16th in Sheffield for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

At GCSE level, the average Attainment 8 score is 46.3 and the Progress 8 score is 0.05. A Progress 8 score close to zero typically indicates progress broadly in line with national expectations from students’ starting points; 0.05 suggests slightly above that baseline. EBacc average point score is 4.24.

The EBacc grade 5 or above measure sits at 18.5%, which is a useful indicator for families weighing the strength of the academic pathway for the full English Baccalaureate suite, particularly where language uptake is a priority.

A helpful way to read the GCSE picture is in terms of curriculum intent and consistency. The inspection narrative points to a wide key stage 4 offer and a deliberate push for many pupils to study EBacc subjects, with strengthening work on teaching strategies and curriculum sequencing. Where that work is implemented consistently, the school’s measures are likely to remain stable or improve incrementally, rather than swing sharply year to year.

A-level performance and ranking context

Ranked 1,696th in England and 17th in Sheffield for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the sixth form sits below England average.

Grade distribution gives a clearer picture than rankings alone. A* grades sit at 4.79%, A grades at 9.30%, and A* to B at 39.72%. The England average benchmark for A* to A is 23.6%, and for A* to B is 47.2%, which indicates the sixth form is operating below those national reference points on top-grade concentration.

That does not mean the sixth form lacks ambition. It does suggest that families targeting very high A-level attainment as the primary goal should scrutinise subject choice, entry requirements and the support model, particularly for students planning competitive university courses. In practical terms, this often comes down to careful matching: strong fit between student profile, subject selection, study habits and teaching approach tends to matter more when top-grade rates are under pressure.

To compare results locally, FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help parents view GCSE and A-level performance side by side with nearby alternatives in Sheffield.

Teaching and learning at All Saints is designed to be both broad and structured, with a deliberately sequenced curriculum and a large menu of options at key stage 4 and key stage 5. At key stage 3, Years 7 and 8 follow the National Curriculum, and option choices begin at the end of Year 8. That relatively early option point makes curriculum continuity a key consideration for families, because subject depth can be affected where pupils stop learning in some areas at Year 8 rather than Year 9.

At key stage 4, the compulsory spine includes English language and literature, mathematics, science (triple award or combined), religious studies, a humanities choice (geography or history), and a modern foreign language (French or Spanish) for most students. This structure signals that the school expects many pupils to remain on an academic route while still offering vocational and technical options such as health and social care, travel and tourism, dance and sport awards.

For many families, the most important practical question is how the school responds to different starting points. Here, the inspection record points towards active work on adapting teaching, breaking concepts into manageable steps, and building consistency in new strategies across departments. The implications are straightforward. If your child thrives on clear routines and explicit modelling, they may benefit from this direction of travel. If your child needs exceptionally consistent delivery across every classroom, it is worth probing how embedded the newer strategies are in the subjects that matter most to them.

The school does not publish a single, comprehensive annual destinations headline across all pathways in the way some sixth forms do, but it does set out a clear post-16 and post-18 support model. The sixth form programme includes tutorial time focused on university, apprenticeship and employment applications, alongside core religious education and enrichment. There is also explicit emphasis on practical preparation for leaving home and managing adult responsibilities, which is often valued by families who want more than just UCAS administration.

For the 2023 to 2024 leaver cohort 56% progressed to university, 7% to apprenticeships, 22% to employment, and 1% to further education. With a cohort size of 169, those proportions suggest a broad spread of destinations rather than a single dominant route.

Where the school can add qualitative weight is through targeted programmes and examples. One published example is Oxbridge success in 2020, with two Year 13 students securing places, which signals that high-end academic applications are supported for the right candidates even if they are not the typical destination for the cohort as a whole.

A sensible parent approach is to treat destinations here as personalised rather than pipeline-driven. Ask about subject combinations, guidance for degree apprenticeships, work experience structures, and how the sixth form helps students bridge the gap between GCSE study habits and Level 3 expectations.

Admissions are best understood as two parallel processes: Year 7 entry, coordinated by the local authority, and sixth form applications, coordinated through Sheffield’s post-16 system for most applicants.

Year 7 entry (September 2026)

The school is oversubscribed with 494 applications and 204 offers for the Year 7 route. That equates to 2.42 applications per offer and indicates competition for places even before faith prioritisation is factored in.

For Sheffield secondary applications, the local authority deadline for online submission is midday Tuesday 14 October 2025, with a paper route available to 31 October.

All Saints also requires families applying under faith or certain criteria to complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) and return it directly to the school with supporting evidence by 31 October 2025 for September 2026 entry.

Oversubscription is managed through ranked criteria that prioritise Catholic looked-after and previously looked-after children, Catholic children attending designated feeder primary schools, and other Catholic children, before moving through additional faith and feeder categories. If the school reaches capacity part-way through a category, the policy specifies a random computer allocation process that is independently monitored for applicants within that category.

Offers for secondary places are aligned with national offer day, and the school’s admissions documentation references 1 March 2026 or the next working day for communication of outcomes.

Because the dataset does not include a last-offered distance figure for this school, families should not rely on proximity assumptions. It is still sensible to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to understand relative distance to the school gate, but this should sit alongside the faith and feeder structure, which can be more decisive than distance for Catholic academies.

Sixth form entry (September 2026)

For Sheffield sixth form applications, the published citywide timeline states that applications open on 1 December 2025 and close on 31 January 2026, using Sheffield Progress.

The school also sets out that students progressing internally typically have a right to remain provided they meet minimum entry criteria and subject requirements, which is a common structure for 11 to 18 schools with established sixth forms.

Pastoral systems at All Saints are framed explicitly through Catholic language about dignity, care and responsibility, but they are also expressed through practical structures such as tutor time, daily routines and clear expectations about punctuality and attendance. The school day schedule includes dedicated tutorial and break windows split across year groups, which is often used to combine academic monitoring with pastoral check-ins without losing too much lesson time.

For families, the most relevant wellbeing questions tend to be operational: how quickly concerns are acted on, how behaviour expectations are enforced, and how support is provided for students who struggle to manage pressure. The inspection narrative indicates that the school is strengthening consistency in teaching approaches and is attentive to support for vulnerable pupils and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, with new leadership in that area identifying improvements and early signs of impact.

If you are considering the sixth form, pastoral care increasingly overlaps with academic independence. Student materials emphasise attendance, use of study areas, and structured intervention when patterns slip. This can suit students who respond well to clear accountability, but it can also feel tight for those who expect a more laissez-faire sixth form experience.

Enrichment is one of the most distinctive parts of the All Saints offer, because it is strongly linked to personal development, Catholic life and structured opportunities across year groups.

At the whole-school level, the extra-curricular programme includes the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at Bronze (Year 10), Silver (Year 11 to Year 12) and Gold (Post 16), plus retreats across Years 7 to 11 and formal opportunities such as Mock Trial in Year 8 and a public speaking competition for Post 16. The implication is that participation is not restricted to a small high-achieving minority; there are entry points for students with different interests and confidence levels.

Clubs and activities are also unusually specific for a large secondary, which helps parents judge fit. The school’s published activity materials include options such as Film Club, Warhammer, Board Games, reading sessions in the library, walking in Norfolk Park, and calm spaces for older students, alongside sports and dance. These details matter. They indicate that enrichment is designed for broad uptake, including students who are not motivated by competitive sport.

Academic and competition-style enrichment also exists. The most recent inspection references activities such as debating, sewing, Lego construction and the Chemistry Olympiad. For families with academically driven pupils, the implication is that there are subject-linked stretch opportunities without the school presenting itself as a narrow academic hothouse.

Sport has a particularly strong external-facing profile. Department information points to citywide competition links and partnerships with clubs including Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday (football), Sheffield Hatters (basketball) and Sheffield Volleyball Club, plus alternating annual sports trips such as skiing in Italy and a sports tour to Spain.

The school day begins with students moving to Period 1 at 08:25, with Period 1 starting at 08:30. Years 7 to 11 finish at 15:00, while Post 16 students have a sixth period and typically leave at 16:00.

Transport is straightforward for many Sheffield families. School materials note that the site is served by buses running on Granville Road and adjacent roads, and that the Granville Road and Sheffield College tram stop is a short walk away.

Parking is more situational. The school indicates that the main reception and visitor car park are located on Granville Road, and open event communications caution that local parking can be limited, with managed on-site parking sometimes routed via a sports hall entrance on Norfolk Park Road.

• Competition for places. The school is oversubscribed and the admissions policy uses ranked faith and feeder criteria. Families considering Year 7 entry for September 2026 should plan around the 14 October 2025 Sheffield online deadline and the 31 October 2025 SIF deadline where applicable.

• Faith expectations are real. Families do not need to be Catholic to apply, but the admissions structure prioritises Catholic applicants and the ethos is designed to permeate daily life. This suits many families, but those who prefer a strictly secular experience should weigh that carefully.

• Sixth form outcomes are weaker relative to England averages. The sixth form offers a broad programme and structured support, but the A-level grade profile sits below England benchmarks. Students aiming for highly competitive courses should consider subject-by-subject strength and the level of independent study expected.

• Curriculum continuity at key stage 3. Options are chosen at the end of Year 8. For some students this works well; for others it can compress depth in subjects that are dropped early, so it is worth understanding how the school manages transition into key stage 4, especially for optional subjects.

All Saints’ Catholic High School offers a clearly structured Catholic education with strong demand for Year 7 entry, a broad key stage 4 curriculum and a large sixth form. GCSE performance sits in the middle band for England, with progress slightly above baseline, while the sixth form outcome profile is less strong on top grades. Best suited to families who value a faith-informed school culture, clear routines and a wide menu of enrichment, and who are prepared to engage carefully with admissions deadlines and criteria.