St Bede's Catholic College, Bristol

Ofsted's report card from its 6 January 2026 inspection grades St Bede's Catholic College on 7 areas: 2 strong standard and 5 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders have put in place a range of successful strategies to improve attendance."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Pupils in the main school, and students in the sixth form, are extremely well prepared for life outside of school."

Achievement - Expected standard. "At the end of key stage 4, pupils achieve consistently well across the curriculum, as shown in external outcomes."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders have responded quickly to a significant increase in the number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders know their school well."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "The sixth form has grown significantly since the previous inspection."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to strengthen the quality of provision at post 16, so that the improvements in academic outcomes are embedded over time"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently check pupils' understanding well, so that highly effective teaching is embedded across subjects and year groups"; "Leaders should more closely review the impact of the school's professional development programme, so that strategies to support teaching and learning are embedded in practice".

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 5 November 2026 at 6pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at St Bede's Catholic College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 51.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46 in Bristol, City of; and 47 across England.

52% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Bristol, City of; and 47% in England.

That is down from 57.1 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.38: 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 34.8, against 54.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Biology and Physics.

For September 2026 entry, 251 families put St Bede's Catholic College as their first choice and 430 named it as one of their preferences, for 204 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 54 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Bede's Catholic College are Blaise High School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.7); Oasis Academy Brightstowe (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 33.7); Bristol Free School (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 59.3); and St Katherine's School (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.2).

St Bede's Catholic College's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

131 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Bede's Catholic College (as of April 2026): 94% would recommend the school, 92% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).

Of the 208 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% 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 131 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 63% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 18% into work. 28% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

11.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 30% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (37%), Asian (22%) and Black (7%).

In 2026, 303 pupils (22.9%) received SEN support and 33 (2.5%) 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 a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

The nearest railway station is Shirehampton Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Lawrence Weston Road (e-bound), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Bede's Catholic College stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 88 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Bristol, City of (417).

In 2024/25, St Bede's Catholic College issued 58 suspensions, 4.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Bede's Catholic College are Oasis Academy Bank Leaze (0.3 miles); Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School, Bristol (0.5 miles); Oasis Academy Long Cross (0.7 miles); and Henbury Court Primary Academy (1.3 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.