Our Lady's RC High School, Manchester

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are a school with a distinct ethos centred upon the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The dignity of each person is at the heart of Catholic teaching and we ensure each person is treated with the respect they deserve."

In 2026, pupils at Our Lady's RC High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.3 in Manchester and 47 across England.

45% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 47% in Manchester and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 49.1.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.33: 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 44.8, against 53.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.5 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, 232 families put Our Lady's RC High School as their first choice and 570 named it as one of their preferences, for 202 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 54 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Our Lady's RC High School are Co-op Academy Manchester (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.5); Co-op Academy North Manchester (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.4); Dixons Middleton Academy (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.9); and Edgar Wood Academy (1.8 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 41.4).

Our Lady's RC High School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

35 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Our Lady's RC High School (as of April 2026): 97% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 50% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (50%).

Of the 174 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 36% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

45.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 54.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (40%), White British (31%) and Mixed (9%).

Our Lady's RC High School had 78 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Bowker Vale (Manchester Metrolink), about 1.5 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Our Lady's High School (outside), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Our Lady's RC High 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, Our Lady's RC High School issued 1 suspension, 0.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Our Lady's RC High School are E-ACT Blackley Academy (0.3 miles), St Clare's RC Primary School (0.3 miles), Crab Lane Primary School (0.7 miles) and Rhodes Green CE Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.