Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College

Voluntary aided school·Secondary school Altrincham, Trafford·WA15 8HT
Composite score
61.1
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#1,073
National rank
#126
In North West
#12
In Trafford
Top 34%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
48.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
42%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
66%
% EBacc grade 5+
5%
EBacc average points score
3.79

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
99%
209 first choices, 285 places
First choices per place
0.73
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
986
any preference, for 285 places
Last place offered lived
4.58 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 7371 m
Applications from another council area
12%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.01
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9820221.0220230.7520240.7320250.732026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants, and in 2026 the last place went under “category 5 (last offer)”. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,614
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
14.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
10.7%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
17.7%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.5%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.4%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
23.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,109
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
93%
281 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
86%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College

Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College is a secondary school in Altrincham, Trafford, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 1,614 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 48.9, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That is down 1.6 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 34% of secondary schools nationally.

42% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 66% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. 99% of the families who made Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 4.58 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 93% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.4%. There are about 16.8 pupils per teacher. Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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