St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa
St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa is a non-maintained special school in Wetherby for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 89 pupils and room for 105. About 26 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Church Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, LS23 6DF01937 842144stjohns.org.ukMr Kevin Harrington headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 7 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
17 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Leeds | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 11 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | – | 1.1 | – | – | – | 3.2 | 45.8 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | – | – | – | – | -1.98 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | 0% | 46% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | – | 0% | – | – | – | 0% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | – | 0.06 | – | – | – | 0.08 | 4.12 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | – | 0% | – | – | – | 0% | 50% | 41% |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Leeds council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Leeds with hearing impairment provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (35), language and communications needs (16), Hearing impairment (12), emotional and mental health (6), Physical disability (3), Severe learning difficulty (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 89 | 82 | 75 | 56 | 55 | 56 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 25% | 23% | 24% | 29% | 26% | 23% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 2% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 9% | 13% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 5% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 95% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 84.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 15.8% | 12.9% | 10.7% | 12.5% | 11.0% | 3.9% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 15.2% | 11.6% | 9.9% | 11.5% | 10.5% | 3.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 27.9% | 33.9% | 32.5% | 37.1% | 25.0% | 9.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 4.9 | 8.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 6 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2018/19 leavers | 2016/17 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% |
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primrose Lane Primary School | Foundation | 340 m | 165 | Requires improvement 2023 | 16 | Compare |
| St Mary's Church of England Controlled Primary School Boston Spa | Church of England | 340 m | 134 | No overall grade 2025 | 79 | Compare |
| St Edward's Catholic Primary School, Boston Spa | Roman Catholic | 470 m | 197 | Good 2022 | 93 | Compare |
| Boston Spa Academy | Academy | 740 m | 1,498 | Outstanding 2023 | 90 | Compare |
| Lady Elizabeth Hastings' CofE VA Primary School, Thorp Arch | Church of England | 0.8 miles | 98 | Good 2024 | 42 | Compare |
| Bramham Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 184 | Good 2024 | 75 | Compare |
| Tadcaster Grammar School | Academy | 2.3 miles | 1,494 | Good 2022 | 68 | Compare |
| Wetherby High School | Foundation | 2.4 miles | 828 | Good 2024 | 61 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa a good school?
St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2024.
What is St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa good at its last full inspection on 7 February 2024.
How many pupils does St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa have?
89 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 105 places, so it is 85% full.
What is attendance like at St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa?
Pupils were in school 84.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 28% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Church Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, LS23 6DF
- Telephone
- 01937 842144
- Website
- www.stjohns.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Kevin Harrington
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Leeds
- Ward
- Wetherby
- Constituency
- Wetherby and Easingwold
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 108120 · LAESTAB 3837016 · UKPRN 10006283
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- 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.