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State secondary · 11 to 16 · Mixed · Roman Catholic · 818 pupils

St Bernard's Catholic High School

Herringthorpe Valley Road, Rotherham, S65 3BE
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

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Ofsted: Good · February 20241st (1/16)Oversubscribed · 1.7 first choices per place (2026)

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 951st of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: 1st.
1st (1/16)Rank among 16 Rotherham secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
Inspection
Good, February 2024
Getting in
Oversubscribed for Year 7 2026
Results
+0.32 progress 8; 50.3 attainment 8
Size
818 pupils; 146 places a year; classes of 22
Faith
Roman Catholic
Run by
St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust
Type
Academy converter
Ages
11 to 16 · Mixed
Ofsted, February 2024The judgements from the school's latest inspection. Reports from November 2025 use Ofsted's new report card, with different headings; we show whichever the latest report uses.Read the report ↗
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
Leadership and managementOutstanding
Strengths, and things to check
  • Progress 8: +0.32, against -0.12 in Rotherham.
  • Attainment 8: 50.3, against 44.6 in Rotherham.
  • Oversubscribed: 1.7 first choices for each place (Year 7 2026).
  • We hold no offer-day distances for this school: ask the council how far places went.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Rotherham and England
This schoolRotherhamEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Progress 8How far pupils progressed between the end of primary school and GCSEs, against pupils across England who started at the same level. 0 is average; +0.5 means half a grade better in each subject.
+0.32
Better than Rotherham
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
50.3
Better than Rotherham
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
51%
Better than Rotherham
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
5.8%
Better than Rotherham
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
14.9%
Better than Rotherham
Suspensions per 100 pupilsSuspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Lower is better; one or two incidents move a small school a lot.
15.1
Better than Rotherham
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
22.1
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
23%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
16.9
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
1.7
More sought after than Rotherham
Rotherham and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • A Roman Catholic school: its admissions policy may give priority by faith. DfE, Get Information about Schools
  • 254 families put it first for 146 places; 146 of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.
  • Some places go first to children from named primary schools: see the feeder rules below.
  • We can't tell how far Year 7 places reached: we hold no offer-day figures for this school. Ask the council or the school for the last distance offered.

Quality

  • Good Ofsted · inspected 20 February 2024
  • Progress 8: +0.32 (England +0.01) (county -0.12) DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024
  • Attainment 8: 50.3 (England 47.4) (county 44.6) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 51% (England 48%) (county 43%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: above average DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024

Daily life

  • Absence: 5.8% of sessions missed; 15% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 8.5% and 24% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Suspensions: 15 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 17); 3 permanent exclusions DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 22.1 pupils; 46% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 16.9 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 45 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 13 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 4 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 11.0 µg/m³, PM2.5 7.6 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, with 15 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined April 2023
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 July 2012 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced St Bernard's Catholic High School, Specialist School for the Arts and Applied Learning (URN 106963) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 July 2012
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 72026146254424146
Year 72025149255422148
Year 72024147218405146
Year 72023151232384148
Year 72022148198338145
Year 72021148202340143
Year 72020153199349146
Year 72019155172308140
Year 72018139179305130
Year 72017138169296130

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2014 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Feeder school rules

Named feeder primary schools · Year 7

Priority position: 2 (Catholic children at a feeder; after 1 Catholic looked after) and 5 (other children at a feeder)

2. Catholic children who attend a feeder Catholic primary school, namely, St Bede's Catholic Primary School (Kimberworth), St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Dinnington), St Gerard's Catholic Primary School (Thrybergh), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Maltby), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Herringthorpe).

Feeder schools: St Bede's Catholic Primary School (Kimberworth), St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Dinnington), St Gerard's Catholic Primary School (Thrybergh), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Maltby), St Mary's Catholic Primary School (Herringthorpe)

From the admission arrangements for 2027/28: the document, page 2.

Quoted word for word from the arrangements the school or council published. Check the quote against the school's own current admission policy before you rely on it: rules change each year.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Progress 8+0.32+0.01-0.122023/2024
Attainment 850.347.444.62025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above51%48%43%2025/2026

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)1st (1/16)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
20 February 2024Graded inspectionGood

Source: Ofsted, 2024.

Where leavers go

StageLeavers inPupilsIn a sustained placeOf which
After GCSEs2023/2415191%In education 84%; Apprenticeship 4.6%; Employment 2.6%
After GCSEs2022/2314294%In education 89%; Apprenticeship 1.4%; Employment 3.5%
After GCSEs2021/2214195%In education 91%; Apprenticeship 2.1%; Employment 2.1%

Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.

Rotherham league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/255.8%3.3%2.6%15%1.4%
2023/245.9%3.0%2.9%15%1.7%
2022/235.5%3.0%2.5%12%1.1%
Schools with a similar intake8.5%24%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (20-30%), the median of 896 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/2515.16.6%1243
2023/2417.07.0%1383
2022/236.83.3%542
Schools with a similar intake16.8

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size22.12025/26
Classes over 30 pupils46%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher16.9November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus45

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
20257
20241
20231
20221
20213

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 4 serious and 0 fatal in all; 4 involved a pedestrian, 1 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO211.02024
PM1012.52024
PM257.62024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals23%2025/26
First language other than English18%2025/26
SEN support16%2025/26
Education, health and care plan5.6%2025/26
Girls47%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • St Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust, with 15 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined April 2023
  • Opened as an academy (converter) on 1 July 2012 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced St Bernard's Catholic High School, Specialist School for the Arts and Applied Learning (URN 106963) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 July 2012
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, destination measures
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in Rotherham and the Rotherham league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.