Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Knowsley
Cumber Lane, Prescot, L35 2XG
45
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Requires improvement
Graded 17/04/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
83.8%
47.8% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
730
Capacity used
Has space70%
1,050 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
96 of 96 families who put it first got an offer
141
Places offered
206
Total applications
1.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 96 | 96 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 70 | 18 | ● 26% |
| 3rd preference | 40 | 1 | ● 3% |
| Total | 206 | 115 | 56% |
1st preference success by year
Knowsley lets families list 3 preferences. 13 applications came from outside the council area (5 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Headteacher
- Clare McKenna
- Address
- Cumber Lane, Whiston, Prescot, L35 2XG
- Phone
- 01514778770
- Local authority
- Knowsley
- Ward / constituency
- Whiston and Cronton · St Helens South and Whiston
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 148534
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 49% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 8% | — | — |
| SEN support | 14% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
730 pupils · 1,050 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
17 April 2024
Full graded inspection
Requires improvement overall effectivenessPersonal development Requires improvement Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 785 pupils
Attendance
83.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
16.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
47.8%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
10.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
13.1%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 31.5 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -1.01 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 17% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 34% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 2.64 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 30.2 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 11.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 34.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 29.3% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.46 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 133 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 126 | 11% | 39% | 60% | |
| Mathematics | 125 | 0% | 13% | 38% | |
| Combined Science | 125 | 1% | 13% | 25% | |
| Religious Studies | 124 | 6% | 24% | 29% | |
| English Literature | 122 | 10% | 43% | 62% | |
| Geography | 69 | 4% | 22% | 38% | |
| History | 59 | 2% | 19% | 27% | |
| French | 43 | 0% | 21% | 23% | |
| Art and Design | 34 | 6% | 44% | 82% | |
| Music | 27 | 4% | 41% | 74% | |
| Design & Technology | 16 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Knowsley council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.