Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School

Voluntary aided school·Secondary school Leeds·LS6 4QE
Composite score
72.5
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#316
National rank
#10
In Yorkshire and The Humber
#1
In Leeds
Top 10%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
58.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
73%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
83%
% EBacc grade 5+
33%
EBacc average points score
5.13

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
71%
249 first choices, 179 places
First choices per place
1.39
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
717
any preference, for 179 places
Last place offered lived
1.73 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 2784 m
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.19
00.511.52
1 per place
1.2620221.2920231.2820241.2020251.392026

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. 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
11–16
Pupils on roll
919
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.7%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
22.3%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
0.9%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
5.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
14.1%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.1
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,948
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
91%
182 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
86%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School

Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is a secondary school in Leeds, classified by the DfE as a voluntary aided school with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 919 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 58.0 — well above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.1 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 10% of secondary schools in England.

73% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 83% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School is oversubscribed: about 7 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 249 first choices for 179 places. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 1.73 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 91% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 5.6%. There are about 17.1 pupils per teacher. Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School 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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