Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy
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Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy is a converter academy in Oldham for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,469 pupils and room for 1,650. About 37 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 3 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2023.
Off Canon Dolan Way, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 9QY0161 785 8858newmanrc.oldham.sch.ukMrs Kerry Phillips headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 May 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 9 January 2020 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
293 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Blessed John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, the school this one replaced.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Oldham | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 293 | 297 | 303 | 294 | 292 | 296 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 43.7 | 46.2 | 44.8 | 45.4 | 43.6 | 45.8 | 43.7 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.14 | -0.27 | -0.23 | -0.22 | +0.02 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 37% | 44% | 41% | 45% | 37% | 38% | 37% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 57% | 65% | 65% | 67% | 57% | 57% | 59% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.83 | 4.08 | 3.84 | 4.00 | 3.55 | 3.68 | 3.85 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 41% | 51% | 46% | 43% | 12% | 20% | 47% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 38.8 | 39.1 | 40.2 | 39.6 | 37.4 | 38.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 46.4 | 49.7 | 47.2 | 48.8 | 49.1 | 49.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 27.7 | 29.3 | 28.6 | 22.9 | 23.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 62.0 | 61.7 | 68.4 | 55.5 | 61.2 | – | – |
† These results are for Blessed John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, the school this one replaced in March 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 3 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference.
How places were given out for September 2026.
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 300 | 190 | 547 | – | LA |
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 77 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for secondary schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (64), emotional and mental health (63), Moderate learning difficulty (44), Autistic spectrum disorder (29), Specific learning difficulty (18), Physical disability (6).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 9.1% | 8.9% | 9.4% | 9.8% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.5% | 4.3% | 5.6% | 6.9% | 4.1% | 3.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.6% | 4.6% | 3.8% | 2.9% | 2.3% | 3.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 26.6% | 26.4% | 28.8% | 31.9% | 19.0% | 17.0% | 23.9% |
† These attendance figures are for Blessed John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, the school this one replaced in March 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Radclyffe School | Academy | 820 m | 1,430 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| North Chadderton School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 1,524 | No overall grade 2024 | 36 | Compare |
| The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy | Free school | 1.3 miles | 950 | No overall grade 2025 | 87 | Compare |
| Dixons Middleton Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,319 | Good 2024 | 16 | Compare |
| Oasis Academy Oldham | Academy | 1.4 miles | 1,415 | Good 2024 | 31 | Compare |
| St Matthew's RC High School | Academy | 1.6 miles | 1,327 | No overall grade 2024 | 32 | Compare |
| Co-op Academy North Manchester | Academy | 1.7 miles | 1,259 | Good 2024 | 26 | Compare |
| E-ACT the Oldham Academy North | Academy | 1.9 miles | 1,258 | Not inspected | 79 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy | Free school | 1.3 miles | 950 | No overall grade 2025 | 87 | Compare |
| Dixons Middleton Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,319 | Good 2024 | 16 | Compare |
| Hollingworth Academy | Academy | 5.3 miles | 1,331 | Good 2022 | 68 | Compare |
| Trinity CofE High School | Academy | 6.1 miles | 1,503 | Good 2023 | 72 | Compare |
| Parrs Wood High School | Academy | 9.4 miles | 1,786 | Not inspected | 46 | Compare |
| Sharples School | Academy | 12.2 miles | 1,214 | Not inspected | 92 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 3 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 3% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 7. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | well below | -1.61 | Ofsted grade, 3.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0% | no data | – | 2024/25 |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What pupils do next | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 5% | above | +0.15 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 77 responses |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy scores 3 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 7, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy requires improvement at its last full inspection on 17 May 2023.
How good are Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 37% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 43.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy have?
1,469 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,650 places, so it is 89% full.
Is Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy?
Pupils were in school 90.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy?
90% of the 77 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 87% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy?
The average class had 24.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 6% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Off Canon Dolan Way, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 9QY
- Telephone
- 0161 785 8858
- Website
- www.newmanrc.oldham.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kerry Phillips
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Diocese of Salford
- Multi-academy trust
- Emmaus Catholic Academy Trust (38 schools)
- Local authority
- Oldham
- Ward
- Chadderton South
- Constituency
- Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 March 2025 (academy converter)
- URN
- 149461 · LAESTAB 3534608 · UKPRN 10091413
- Formerly
- Blessed John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Oldham council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.