Our Lady's Catholic High School, Preston

In its own words: "The two schools which amalgamated to form Our Lady’s were: St Edmund Campion in Lea and St Cuthbert Mayne, which already occupied the current site of Our Lady’s in Fulwood."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Our values are drawn directly from the Gospels; they are at the heart of all that we do and everything else flows from this. The expression of the individual personality that God gives to each child is encouraged from the outset through numerous opportunities to take responsibility, commit to school life and work hard as members of teams."

In 2026, pupils at Our Lady's Catholic High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 54.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Lancashire and 47 across England.

55% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Lancashire and 47% in England.

That is up from 50 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.24: pupils made above 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 39.5, against 58.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18.6 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 163 families put Our Lady's Catholic High School as their first choice and 623 named it as one of their preferences, for 175 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 15 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Our Lady's Catholic High School are Fulwood Academy (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.8); Corpus Christi Catholic High School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.1); Archbishop Temple Church of England High School (0.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 56.9); and Lancashire Education Medical Services (1.1 miles).

Our Lady's Catholic High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Of the 174 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 24% to a further education college, 8% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

In 2026, 93 pupils (10.3%) received SEN support and 21 (2.3%) 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 autism.

The nearest railway station is Preston Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Our Ladys RCHS (by), 90 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Our Lady's Catholic High School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 215 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. 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 High School issued 101 suspensions, 11.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 4 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Our Lady's Catholic High School are St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, Preston (under 0.1 miles); Fulwood and Cadley Primary School (0.2 miles); Queen's Drive Primary School (0.5 miles); and The Roebuck School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.