SCHOOL PROFILE

St James' Catholic High School

Secondary Voluntary aided school URN 101364
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,400 Published school capacity
Capacity used 88.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

5 May 2022
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Barnet
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,243 1,243 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 561 45.1% of pupils
Male pupils 682 54.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

30.2%
5.4 pts above England
School 30.2%
Barnet 20.6%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

64.2%
43.9 pts above England
School 64.2%
Barnet 43.3%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

2.7%
1.7 pts above England
School 2.7%
Barnet 0.6%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Any other White background
35.0%
435
African
16.7%
207
White British
13.7%
170
Any other Asian background
6.6%
82
Any other ethnic group
6.2%
77
Caribbean
3.3%
41
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 13.5% 168 of 1,243 pupils
7.3 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.5%
Barnet 18.8%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.5% 130 pupils
England 14.8% 4.3 pts below
EHC plans 3.1% 38 pupils
England 6.0% 3.0 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 46
Social, emotional & mental health 45
Specific learning difficulty 26
Autistic spectrum disorder 20
Moderate learning difficulty 14
No specialist assessment yet 11

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

51.4 12.2 pts above England
School 51.4
Barnet 46.8
London 42.1
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 55.8% England 36.0% 19.8 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 74.8% England 51.4% 23.4 pts above England
EBacc entry 52.4% England 30.6% 21.8 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.71 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.32 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.56%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.34 pts higher than England
School 7.56%
Barnet 5.90%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.70%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.89 pts higher than England
School 20.70%
Barnet 14.89%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.59%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.78 pts higher than England
School 2.59%
Barnet 1.29%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

88.8% 3.5 pts below England
St James' Catholic High School
88.8%
Barnet
94.0%
London
91.3%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information