Catholic Schools in England and Scotland

Choosing a Catholic school in England

Catholic schools are the largest group of faith schools in England, with more than 2,000 schools from nursery through to sixth form maintained by local dioceses and funded by the state as voluntary aided or academy schools. Most are free to attend, and the majority admit children of the Catholic faith first - typically requiring baptism, evidence of regular Mass attendance, and sometimes a supporting reference from a parish priest. But admissions policies vary considerably: some schools are highly oversubscribed and apply strict faith criteria, while others, particularly in areas with fewer Catholic families, admit children of other faiths or none once Catholic applicants have been offered places. Reading each school's admissions policy and its supplementary information form before the autumn application deadline is essential.

As well as the standard Ofsted inspection, Catholic schools in England are subject to a Section 48 (denominational) inspection commissioned by the diocese, which assesses the distinctively Catholic character, collective worship and religious education of the school. These reports are separate from Ofsted and worth reading alongside the usual performance data. When comparing Catholic schools, many parents weigh the Ofsted rating and academic results alongside the school's ethos, pastoral care and links to the local parish.

How Catholic school admissions work in practice

Most Catholic schools in England are voluntary aided or academies in a Catholic trust, which makes the governors or trust the admission authority. They set their own oversubscription criteria within the national School Admissions Code, so two Catholic schools a mile apart can rank applicants differently. A typical order runs: looked-after and previously looked-after Catholic children, then baptised Catholic children (often with evidence of practice), then other looked-after children, then children of other Christian denominations, then other faiths, then everyone else. Siblings and distance usually decide places within each group.

You still apply through your council's common application form, by 31 October for secondary and 15 January for primary. Most Catholic schools also ask you to return a supplementary information form, sometimes signed by your parish priest, direct to the school. Miss it and your child is usually ranked as though you had given no faith information at all, which at a popular school can mean no offer. Some policies ask for baptism before a stated age, and a few weigh how regularly the family attends Mass, so read the wording before you apply rather than after.

What makes a Catholic school different

Religious education takes about a tenth of the timetable in Catholic schools, in line with the Bishops' Conference, and the school day includes prayer and collective worship. Alongside Ofsted, each school has a denominational inspection under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005, now carried out in most dioceses by the Catholic Schools Inspectorate. It judges Catholic life and mission, religious education and collective worship, and its report is published separately - read both before you decide.

Many Catholic secondaries take most of their pupils from a named group of Catholic primaries, so the primary you choose can shape your secondary options. If a particular secondary matters to you, check whether its admissions policy names partner or feeder primaries and how much priority they carry.

Catholic schools in Scotland

In Scotland, Catholic schools are state denominational schools run by the council, not by a diocese or trust. They have their own catchment areas, often overlapping the non-denominational schools nearby, and baptised Catholic children living in the catchment usually come first when a school is oversubscribed. Children of any faith or none can apply. They are inspected by Education Scotland like every other state school, and the council handles applications and placing requests.