Cardinal Pole Catholic School, London

In its own words: "Cardinal Pole School is a Catholic community with a long history of success, with state-of-the-art facilities. It is a well-established mixed 11-19 comprehensive school with a wealth of achievements and experience. Cardinal Pole Catholic School is described by Ofsted 2017 as a 'Good school with Outstanding 6th Form'."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Cardinal Pole Catholic School develops young people who are confident to question and willing to listen. We are proud to nurture young people to deliver exceptional academic progress at both GCSE and A-Level. We are an inclusive school and welcome families from a wide range of backgrounds."

The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am.

In 2026, pupils at Cardinal Pole Catholic School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 52.3 in Hackney and 47 across England.

49% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 57% in Hackney and 47% in England.

That is up from 42.9 in 2025.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 44.7, against 49 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.3 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 124 families put Cardinal Pole Catholic School as their first choice and 311 named it as one of their preferences, for 155 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Cardinal Pole Catholic School are The City Academy, Hackney (0.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53.2); The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School (0.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.7); Clapton Girls' Academy (0.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 60.7); and Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy (0.6 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 65.1).

Cardinal Pole Catholic School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Cardinal Pole Catholic School is one of 10 schools run by Lux Mundi Catholic Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 169 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 23% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 105 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 81% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 8% into work. 18% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

66.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 37.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (72%) and Mixed (11%).

The nearest railway station is Homerton Rail Station, about 350 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).

19 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ponsford Street, 60 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Cardinal Pole Catholic School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Cardinal Pole Catholic School issued 102 suspensions, 9.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 6 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Cardinal Pole Catholic School are Berger Primary School (0.1 miles); Morningside Primary School (0.1 miles); St John and St James CofE Primary School (0.1 miles); and The Olive School, Hackney (0.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.