St Edmund's Catholic School, Portsmouth

In its own words: "I can do all things with the help of God who strengthens me Philippians (4:13) 'I can do all things with the help of God who strengthens me.' Philippians (4:13) St Edmund's Catholic School was established by the Roman Catholic people of Portsmouth to provide a Christian education for their children within the discipline and traditions of the Catholic Church."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include dance, drama, choir, photography and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at St Edmund's Catholic School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 56, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.2 in Portsmouth and 47 across England.

64% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 36% in Portsmouth and 47% in England.

That is down from 58.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.66: pupils made well 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 49.3, against 59.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 416 families put St Edmund's Catholic School as their first choice and 700 named it as one of their preferences, for 238 places offered. That is 1.7 first choices for every place. 182 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Edmund's Catholic School are Ark Charter Academy (0.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.9); Priory School (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.4); The Portsmouth Academy (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 34.5); and Miltoncross Academy (1.1 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 35.8).

St Edmund's Catholic School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

14 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Edmund's Catholic School (as of April 2026): 100% would recommend the school and 100% say their child is happy there.

The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (100%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (93%).

Of the 229 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 93% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 59% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

47.7% 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%), Black (21%) and Asian (9%).

In 2026, 130 pupils (11.2%) received SEN support and 31 (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 a moderate learning difficulty.

The nearest railway station is Portsmouth & Southsea Rail Station, about 360 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Canberra House (w-bound), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Edmund's Catholic School 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 1231 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Portsmouth (499), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Edmund's Catholic School issued 45 suspensions, 3.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Edmund's Catholic School are St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery (0.2 miles), Ark Ayrton Primary Academy (0.2 miles) and Ark Dickens Primary Academy (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.