St Benedict's Catholic High School, Whitehaven

In its own words: "At St Benedict’s Catholic High School, we are a community of faith and learning rooted in Gospel teachings and inspired by the Charism of St Benedict. Our Virtues and Values are entrenched in the wisdom gifted to use through the Rule of St Benedicts and these permeate every aspect of our school life."

From the headteacher's welcome: "As a Catholic school, Christ is at the centre of everything we do. Our values, including dignity, humility, diligence, truthfulness, stewardship, and forgiveness are rooted in our Catholic faith. We also recognise that our pupils need to develop resilience, responsibility, flexibility, and a willingness to operate as part of a team."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, dance, chess, gardening and homework club.

In 2026, pupils at St Benedict's Catholic High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 40.4 in Cumberland and 47 across England.

40% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 32% in Cumberland and 47% in England.

That is up from 41.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.29: pupils made 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 34.2, against 48.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.6 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 187 families put St Benedict's Catholic High School as their first choice and 358 named it as one of their preferences, for 191 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 2 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Benedict's Catholic High School are The Whitehaven Academy (0.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43); and West Lakes Academy (4.3 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 39.6).

St Benedict's Catholic High School's 2026 results were higher than all 2 of them.

66 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Benedict's Catholic High School (as of September 2025): 86% would recommend the school, 80% 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 (92%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (50%).

Of the 165 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 70% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 41% to a further education college, 18% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 83 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 45% went on to university or other higher education, 31% to apprenticeships and 16% into work. 11% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

6.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 119 pupils (12%) received SEN support and 67 (6.8%) 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 Corkickle Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Red Lonning (near), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 49 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cumberland (22), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Benedict's Catholic High School issued 248 suspensions, 25 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Benedict's Catholic High School are Jericho Primary School (0.3 miles), Hensingham Primary School (0.5 miles), St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School (0.8 miles) and St Begh's Catholic Junior School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.