St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington Review 2026: A small Catholic secondary with clear community roots and a defined improvement agenda

This is an 11 to 16 school, so the key published performance indicators are GCSE era measures.

Ranked 3527th in England and 2nd in Workington for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school currently sits below England average and within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure.

The attainment picture also needs careful, plain English interpretation:

• Attainment 8: 36.9, below the England average figure.

• Progress 8: -0.63, indicating pupils make below average progress from their starting points compared to similar pupils nationally.

• EBacc APS: 3.02, below the England average figure.

For parents, the implication is straightforward. This is not currently a results led school on headline measures, and families choosing it should do so for fit, ethos, and pastoral reasons, while also paying close attention to how improvement work is translating into classroom consistency and exam readiness.

FindMySchool’s local hub and comparison tools are useful here, because context matters. In areas with relatively few nearby secondaries, parents often want to compare travel time, ethos, and support alongside outcomes, rather than chasing a single headline number.

The most credible picture is one of unevenness across subjects, rather than a single consistent experience for all students. Curriculum planning has been strengthened in many areas, with leaders setting out the knowledge pupils should learn and sequencing it so that new learning builds logically over time. The limitation is implementation consistency, with some lessons not matching intended curriculum ambition and some activities not meeting pupils’ needs, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Reading is treated as a strategic priority. The inspection report describes a well stocked library supported by specialist staff and the use of a phonics scheme to help pupils who find reading more difficult. The more challenging, and more relevant, detail is that some older pupils are not yet fluent readers, so families of students with literacy gaps should ask directly how intervention is targeted in Key Stage 3 and then sustained into Key Stage 4.

The school’s subject menu on its website indicates a broad secondary curriculum including practical and applied areas such as Engineering, Food and Nutrition, and Performing Arts. For some students, particularly those motivated by hands on learning, that breadth can be a positive, provided the quality of teaching is consistent across departments.

Where Students Go Next

As an 11 to 16 school with no sixth form, progression planning is mainly about post 16 routes. The inspection report references careers encounters, visiting speakers from different employment sectors, and visits to colleges and other post 16 providers, supporting students to make informed choices for education, employment or training.

The school’s own narrative also stresses next step preparation. For parents, the useful question is how early guidance starts, how it is personalised, and whether the school actively supports applications to local sixth forms, further education colleges, and apprenticeships, rather than simply signposting options.

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Year 7 entry is co ordinated through the local authority application process, with the school’s admissions arrangements also set out in its own admissions information and policy documentation. For September 2026 entry, the planned admission number is 120.

Families applying under faith based oversubscription categories should expect an additional step. The admissions policy requests completion of a supplementary information form, with a published return deadline of 15 October 2025 for the 2026 entry round. The main secondary application closing date is 31 October 2025, and outcomes are issued on 1 March 2026 or the next working day.

For parents reading this in January 2026, those dates are already in the past for September 2026 entry. Late applications and in year moves are handled under the local authority’s coordinated scheme, so families who missed the deadline should contact the admissions team promptly and ask about availability and waiting list arrangements.

Demand is visible in local authority published preference and offer figures for the September 2026 process, including counts of first, second, and third preferences and offers made on national offer day. For most families, the practical implication is that preference order and correct completion of faith evidence steps can make a material difference to how applications are considered.

Parents considering future years should also note the repeated timing pattern. For September 2026 entry, the online application system opened 3 September 2025 and closed 31 October 2025, which is consistent with typical English secondary admissions windows.

FindMySchoolMap Search can help families sense check travel practicality, but it cannot substitute for reading oversubscription criteria carefully, especially where faith evidence and tie break distance rules apply.

Pastoral strength is often a key reason families choose a smaller Catholic secondary. Here, the most reliable evidence points to positive relationships between pupils and staff, with pupils willing to raise worries and with clear messaging that bullying is not acceptable. Students report that incidents are handled and that staff are vigilant around the site.

The more difficult part of the wellbeing picture is consistency of behaviour and attendance. The inspection report describes improvement in behaviour for many pupils since September 2023, but also notes that a minority disrupt learning and that suspensions and exclusions have been higher than expected. It also highlights that attendance has not been as strong as it should be, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and that improvement work is underway but still at an early stage for some pupils.

For parents, these details translate into practical questions to ask on a visit: how behaviour expectations are reinforced lesson by lesson, what happens after repeated low level disruption, how attendance barriers are identified, and what the escalation pathway looks like when a student is struggling to attend.

The school’s wider life is partly framed around service and community, which aligns with Catholic social teaching. The inspection report references acts of kindness and charitable fundraising, plus the role of school councillors, suggesting students have structured routes into leadership and community contribution.

For students who need a tangible goal beyond lessons, Duke of Edinburgh activity is signposted on the school website. While the detailed content is presented in a slide format, its presence still signals a commitment to structured personal challenge and recognition, which can be particularly motivating for some students in Years 9 to 11.

Music is also positioned as an accessible enrichment route. The school runs peripatetic music lessons and lists current instrument options as drums and percussion, singing, keyboard, and guitar. The implication for families is that music is not only for those already advanced, it is set up as a pathway for beginners and those who want to build confidence through small group or one to one tuition.

Sport and physical activity appear to have a community facing dimension through the school’s sports development programme. The website describes adult and teen sessions including pickleball in the sports hall and walking football on the astro, with a published cost of £3 per session. While these are not student clubs in the usual sense, they do indicate facilities being used actively beyond the timetable, which can support a culture where sport is normalised rather than reserved for only the most competitive.

The school publishes a detailed daily timetable. Students can access the site from 8.30am, tutor time begins at 8.45am, and the school day ends at 3.15pm. Break and lunch timings are also set out, which helps families understand pacing, supervision points, and when students can expect downtime.

As a Workington secondary, many students will travel by a mix of walking, bus, and car drop off. Parents should check transport options and journey reliability for their own address, especially in winter months, because punctuality and attendance expectations are closely linked to progress.

• Inspection outcome and trajectory. The current Ofsted judgement is Requires Improvement (November 2023). Families should ask what has changed since that inspection, and how leaders are measuring consistency in teaching and behaviour.

• Progress measures. A Progress 8 score of -0.63 indicates pupils are, on average, making less progress than similar pupils nationally. If your child needs accelerated progress, ask how intervention is targeted in Key Stage 3 and sustained into GCSE years.

• Attendance and behaviour consistency. Published evidence points to improving behaviour for many pupils, but also to a minority disrupting learning and to attendance challenges, particularly for some vulnerable groups. That can affect classroom experience if not tightly managed.

• Faith based admissions steps. Applicants under certain Catholic oversubscription categories are asked to submit supplementary information by a published deadline. Missing that step can change how an application is prioritised.

St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington is best understood as a faith anchored, community serving 11 to 16 secondary working through a defined improvement programme. It will suit families who value Catholic ethos, smaller school familiarity, and structured routines, and who are prepared to engage actively with attendance expectations and academic support. For families seeking the strongest exam performance indicators in England, the current data suggests looking closely at progress and results trends, and interrogating how consistently classroom practice now matches leadership ambition.