St Mary's Catholic Academy, Blackpool

Ofsted's report card from its 16 June 2026 inspection grades St Mary's Catholic Academy on 7 areas: 6 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have prioritised improvements to attendance and behaviour."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders use a range of assessment information to identify pupils' needs accurately."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a personal development programme that builds systematically on pupils' prior learning."

Post-16 provision - Expected standard. "Students are positive about their experience in the sixth form."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Pupils do not achieve as well as they should over time."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that improvements to teaching, including the checks made on what pupils know and remember, are embedded across all subjects"; "Leaders should ensure that improvements to the curriculum lead to a positive trend in pupils' achievement"; "Leaders should refine the tracking of pupils' participation in the personal development programme to respond to their individual needs and aspirations across all phases".

In 2026, pupils at St Mary's Catholic Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 38.7 in Blackpool and 47 across England.

39% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 35% in Blackpool and 47% in England.

That is up from 41.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.7: pupils made well 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 39.1, against 47.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.4 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 245 families put St Mary's Catholic Academy as their first choice and 453 named it as one of their preferences, for 204 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 53 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Mary's Catholic Academy are Blackpool Aspire Academy (0.7 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.7); Unity Academy Blackpool (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 27.9); Baines School (1.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 47.4); and St George's School A Church of England Academy (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 55.4).

St Mary's Catholic Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

St Mary's Catholic Academy is one of 20 schools run by The Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 205 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 38% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 3% into work.

Of the 71 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 72% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 13% into work. 19% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

27.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (63%) and Asian (15%).

In 2026, 137 pupils (11.5%) received SEN support and 28 (2.4%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Layton (Lancs) Rail Station, about 1080 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St. Mary's School (outside), 100 metres away.

In 2024/25, St Mary's Catholic Academy issued 98 suspensions, 8.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 9 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Mary's Catholic Academy are Christ The King Catholic Academy (under 0.1 miles), Boundary Primary School (0.2 miles), Layton Primary School (0.4 miles) and Devonshire Primary Academy (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.