St Mary's RC High School, Hereford

In its own words: "St Mary's owes its existence to four members of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who set up the original foundation in 1861 in the village of Lower Bullingham. It stayed there until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 when, for reasons of safety, it moved to Croft Castle near Leominster."

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is a great privilege to be the Headteacher of St Mary's and I am very proud of what we collectively represent. As a former pupil, I know how special it is to learn at St Mary's, and equally as a parent, how much children grow and develop in their time here with us."

Coming up: an open day on Thursday 25 March 2027 at 9.02am. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at St Mary's RC High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.3 in Herefordshire, County of; and 47 across England.

64% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Herefordshire, County of; and 47% in England.

That is up from 52.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.1: pupils made about 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 41.8, against 55 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.2 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, 189 families put St Mary's RC High School as their first choice and 340 named it as one of their preferences, for 146 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 45 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Mary's RC High School are The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.3); Aylestone School (1.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 40.7); The Hereford Church of England Academy (3.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 41.5); and Whitecross Hereford (3.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.1).

St Mary's RC High School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

140 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Mary's RC High School (as of September 2025): 92% would recommend the school, 94% say their child is happy there and 71% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (71%).

Of the 150 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 25% to a further education college, 5% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.

10.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 27.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (65%), Asian (11%) and Mixed (6%).

The nearest railway station is Hereford Rail Station, about 2.1 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Mary's RC School (adjacent), 180 metres away.

In 2024/25, St Mary's RC High School issued 18 suspensions, 2.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Mary's RC High School are Lugwardine Primary Academy (0.6 miles), St Paul's CofE Primary School (1.2 miles), Hampton Dene Primary School (1.4 miles) and Broadlands Primary School (1.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.