Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College

Academy converter·Secondary school Luton·LU2 7AE
Composite score
62.5
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#919
National rank
#90
In East of England
#3
In Luton
Top 29%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
50.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
46%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
70%
% EBacc grade 5+
28%
EBacc average points score
4.68

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
94%
250 first choices, 261 places
First choices per place
0.96
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
410
any preference, for 261 places
Applications from another council area
6%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.23
00.511.5
1 per place
1.1920221.2220231.1520241.1920250.962026

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

Luton does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

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

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
1,641
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
18.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
30.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.4%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.5%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
16.9%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.6
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,348
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
98%
269 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
94%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
1%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College

Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College is a secondary school in Luton, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. Around 1,641 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 50.0, above the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 1.5 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 29% of secondary schools nationally.

46% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 70% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. 94% of the families who made Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science 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. After Year 11, 98% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.5%. There are about 17.6 pupils per teacher. Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science 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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