St Paul's Catholic College

School overview

St Paul's Catholic College is a secondary school serving Burgess Hill, West Sussex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 1,190 pupils aged 11 to 18 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated St Paul's Catholic College 'Outstanding'. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 55.5 — above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.3 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 14% of secondary schools in England.

64% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 87% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. St Paul's Catholic College is oversubscribed: about 6 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 268 first choices for 173 places. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 1.59 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, 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 17.2 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 9% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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.