Our Lady's Catholic College, Lancaster

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are very proud to be a Catholic school and to be described as an outstanding one by Diocese of Lancaster. As a Catholic school we hold Christ and his teachings at the centre of all we do. Our community lives by the Gospel values of compassion, forgiveness, justice, non-violence, honesty, simplicity and hope."

In 2026, pupils at Our Lady's Catholic College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Lancashire and 47 across England.

37% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Lancashire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 41.3.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.51: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 32.5, against 46.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.1 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 24 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 132 families put Our Lady's Catholic College as their first choice and 459 named it as one of their preferences, for 166 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 1 family who put it first was not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Our Lady's Catholic College are Lancaster Girls' Grammar School (0.6 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 72.1); Lancaster Royal Grammar School (0.7 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 71.6); Lancaster High School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.8); and Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy (1.1 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 49.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Our Lady's Catholic College.

Of the 150 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 43% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 58 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 53% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 17% into work. 18% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

38.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 204 pupils (20.8%) received SEN support and 26 (2.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

Our Lady's Catholic College had 77 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Lancaster Rail Station, about 770 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Our Lady's Catholic College (by), 40 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Our Lady's Catholic College stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 472 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lancashire (109), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Our Lady's Catholic College issued 401 suspensions, 40.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 24 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Our Lady's Catholic College are St Josephs Catholic Primary School, Lancaster (0.4 miles); Lancaster Ryelands Primary School (0.6 miles); Lancaster Dallas Road Community Primary School (0.6 miles); and Castle View Primary Academy (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.