St Mary’s Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Review 2026

Work together; Succeed together sits at the centre of this Catholic 11 to 18 academy in Wallasey Village, part of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust.

The current headteacher is Mr Kevin Maddocks, who began the role in November 2021.

The headline picture is improvement work in progress. The most recent full Ofsted inspection (4 and 5 October 2023) judged the school Requires Improvement overall, with Good for Behaviour and Attitudes and Good for Personal Development.

This is a Catholic school that places faith practice in daily routines rather than treating it as an add on. The chapel is positioned as a central space in school life, and the wider Catholic mission is reinforced through planned worship, retreats and charity links.

The culture message is consistent across the school’s own materials. The vision statement, Work together; Succeed together, appears as the organising principle for expectations and relationships, and the core values are framed as Respect, Courage, Pride, Compassion and Determination.

Pastoral structures are visible and explicit. The school publishes extensive wellbeing signposting, including resources for anxiety and stress, depression and low mood, anger management, trauma and attachment, and SEND support pages, which matters for families who want clarity on how concerns are handled day to day.

A distinctive feature is the way the school describes inclusion. Alongside mainstream provision, it references specific internal support spaces and targeted support pathways for pupils with additional needs. Catholic Schools Inspectorate commentary also links this inclusion work to named provisions within the school.

Outcomes sit in the lower range nationally on the available performance indicators, and that context is important for setting expectations. At GCSE level, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 29.3 and Progress 8 is -0.99.

FindMySchool’s ranking places the school at 3,776th in England and 3rd in Wallasey for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This indicates performance below England average overall.

The EBacc picture suggests a limited or highly selective EBacc pathway. Only 1.3% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure in the reported dataset, and the average EBacc APS is 2.37.

In the sixth form, grade outcomes are also below typical England patterns. The proportion achieving A to B is recorded as 26.67%, compared with an England benchmark of 47.2% for A to B.

For parents comparing local alternatives, the most useful approach is to use FindMySchool’s Wallasey Local Hub to view local GCSE and sixth form outcomes side by side, then sense check what each school offers in curriculum breadth and post 16 pathways.

The school’s curriculum structure is presented in a practical, navigable way, with subject pathway maps and long term plans by department. For families, this helps answer the question of what is taught when, and how knowledge builds across Years 7 to 11 and into post 16 study.

A notable element is the Inspire Programme, a timetabled personal development offer that the school frames around character, citizenship, and readiness for adult life. It is not positioned as occasional drop down days, it is embedded as dedicated time within the school day.

The Inspire Programme also links to the school’s published values and to structured experiences such as first aid, wellbeing content, and community engagement. For students who benefit from explicit teaching of life skills, this can be a meaningful feature, particularly in a school working to improve consistency and outcomes.

There is also evidence of deliberate vocational and technical planning. The school states it has approval to deliver a T Level in Education and Early Years, a Level 3 pathway intended to combine classroom study with a substantial industry placement, which may suit students who want a direct line into education, childcare or related university routes.

Ofsted’s monitoring visit in June 2025 reports that teaching expertise is improving and that leaders have taken steps to strengthen subject and pedagogical knowledge, while also noting that further improvement is still required.

The school serves multiple transition points, and each matters in different ways. At 16, students can progress into the school’s sixth form, move to a further education provider, or begin employment and training routes depending on availability and suitability.

For post 18 destinations, the published leaver outcomes for the 2023 to 2024 cohort show 44% progressed to university, 6% to further education, 5% to apprenticeships, and 25% to employment.

There are no published Oxbridge figures in the available destination dataset for this school, so families interested in highly selective university routes should ask directly about university support, subject availability, and the depth of super curricular preparation in relevant departments.

Where the school may be particularly helpful is in offering varied pathways rather than a single university centric model. The presence of a T Level option alongside A level and vocational routes signals a sixth form that is likely to suit students who want a clear professional direction early.

Year 7 admission is coordinated through Wirral Council’s secondary admissions process, rather than applying directly to the school. For September 2026 entry, the council timetable indicates an application deadline of 31 October 2025, with offers released on 2 March 2026.

The school publishes admissions policies for the 2026 to 2027 admission year, and families should use these to understand the oversubscription criteria and how faith related priority is applied in a Catholic voluntary academy.

Open events typically run in September based on the school’s published calendar patterns, but dates change year to year. It is sensible to treat September as the usual window and then verify the specific schedule via the school’s current admissions pages and newsletters.

Sixth form entry is managed by the school and is subject to minimum entry requirements and course specific requirements, with capacity described in the school’s sixth form admissions policy. Families considering Year 12 entry should review the sixth form prospectus for current subject availability and entry thresholds.

If you are weighing how realistic admission is, FindMySchool’s Saved Schools shortlist feature can help you track multiple options and prompt practical comparisons between curriculum, travel, and post 16 routes, rather than relying on a single choice.

Behaviour expectations and safeguarding processes are described clearly in the school’s published policies, which is a useful indicator of how the school aims to run day to day routines. The anti bullying policy is written in pupil friendly language, and it places emphasis on reporting concerns and identifying trusted adults.

The wellbeing offer appears broad in scope. The website includes a structured set of pages that signpost support for common adolescent challenges, and it links these to whole school values and to the wider personal development programme.

SEND information and additional learning support are also foregrounded. In practice, families should look for detail on how support is deployed in lessons, how progress is tracked, and what specialist spaces exist for targeted support, particularly given the school’s wider focus on improvement and consistency.

Faith based pastoral work is also part of the picture. The chaplaincy structure, charity partnerships and retreat activity provide a framework for service and reflection that can be reassuring for families who want a school where values are explicit and reinforced.

The extracurricular offer is clearly itemised and includes a mix of sport, creative activities, academic clubs and structured enrichment. Examples named by the school include Debate Team, Duke of Edinburgh, Spoken Word, House Drama, STEM Group, Chess Club, Choir, Boxing and Trampoline.

Duke of Edinburgh is not treated as a token option. School materials describe active Bronze expedition participation and structured preparation, including kit planning and training expectations, which tends to suit students who benefit from a clear framework and incremental milestones.

Creative arts appear to have visible opportunities through performance and production activity, including newsletter coverage of large scale school productions. For students who gain confidence through performing arts and backstage roles, this can provide a strong sense of identity and belonging outside the classroom.

Catholic life adds further enrichment. The school describes charity links by year group, including Caritas in Year 7 and CAFOD in sixth form, alongside wider parish connected service activities. This gives students routine opportunities to link leadership and service, not just occasional fundraising days.

The published school day begins with form time reading at 8.35am and lessons run until 3.05pm, with lunch and clubs scheduled 12.50pm to 1.35pm. An optional free breakfast is listed 8.00am to 8.35am, with the expectation that students are on site by 8.30am.

For travel, the school publishes supported bus route information and notes that services are not solely for the school. The page references specific route adjustments and provides guidance for families relying on public transport planning.

There are no tuition fees because this is a state funded school. Families should still budget for standard extras such as uniform, trips and optional activities, and check the school’s charging and remissions information for how contributions are handled.

• Requires Improvement context. The current overall judgement is Requires Improvement, and the school is in an improvement phase. Families should ask what has changed since October 2023 and what the next priorities are for teaching consistency and outcomes.

• Outcomes are currently weak. GCSE and sixth form indicators sit in the lower range, including a low Attainment 8 score and a below average post 16 A to B proportion. This does not rule the school out, but it makes questions about support, teaching stability and intervention essential.

• EBacc pathway looks limited. The EBacc measure is very low, so parents who value a traditional academic suite of subjects should explore whether this reflects limited entry, limited uptake, or a broader curriculum strategy.

• Catholic life is real and visible. Worship, chaplaincy and service are integrated into school structures. Families who do not want a faith shaped daily experience should read the Catholic life information carefully before choosing this option.

St Mary’s Catholic College is a large, values led Catholic secondary and sixth form serving Wallasey Village and the Wirral area, with clear published routines, a defined personal development programme, and a broad set of clubs. Its challenge is academic performance, with outcomes currently in the lower range and an Ofsted Requires Improvement judgement that signals work still to do.

Who it suits: families seeking a Catholic school where faith, service and structured personal development are central, and where students may benefit from a mix of academic, vocational and technical pathways, including a T Level offer.