Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Hertfordshire
Colney Heath Lane, St Albans, AL4 0TT
78
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 14/11/2023
Application demand
66%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
95.3%
10.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,134
Capacity used
Over capacity107%
1,056 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
66%
1st preference success rate
154 of 234 families who put it first got an offer
172
Places offered
683
Total applications
4.0
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 234 | 154 | ● 66% |
| 2nd preference | 172 | 13 | ● 8% |
| 3rd preference | 164 | 4 | ● 2% |
| 4th preference | 113 | 1 | ● 1% |
| Total | 683 | 172 | 25% |
1st preference success by year
Hertfordshire lets families list 4 preferences. 84 applications came from outside the council area (33 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.
Last distance offered
From Hertfordshire council's allocation report on offer day. It changes every year, so treat it as a guide.
September 2026 entry
This school runs its own admissions and didn't share figures with the council. Contact the school directly.
September 2025 entry
This school runs its own admissions and didn't share figures with the council. Contact the school directly.
Currently available for Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Enfield schools, from council allocation reports. Distances are straight-line from home to school.
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Andy Dunne
- Address
- Colney Heath Lane, St Albans, AL4 0TT
- Phone
- 01727860079
- Local authority
- Hertfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Hill End · St Albans
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137938
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 12% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 31% | — | — |
| SEN support | 11% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER ACADEMY TRUST
1,134 pupils · 1,056 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
14 November 2023
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding - 21
20 October 2021
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 918 pupils
Attendance
95.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
4.7%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
10.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
0.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
0.7%
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 | 54.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.75 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 59% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 82% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.07 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 32.31 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 56.4 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 64.6% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 82.9% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 80.6% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.28 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 175 | — |
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.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 35.77 | 35 |
| Average grade | B- | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 13% | 17% |
| A-level students | 77 | — |
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 Literature | 174 | 23% | 70% | 86% | |
| Mathematics | 173 | 39% | 73% | 88% | |
| English Language | 173 | 27% | 71% | 87% | |
| Religious Studies | 173 | 21% | 60% | 75% | |
| Combined Science | 137 | 22% | 53% | 73% | |
| Geography | 97 | 32% | 63% | 72% | |
| Business | 90 | 40% | 73% | 84% | |
| Spanish | 77 | 14% | 30% | 44% | |
| Art and Design | 76 | 21% | 59% | 75% | |
| History | 74 | 38% | 70% | 84% | |
| French | 65 | 12% | 72% | 85% | |
| Biology | 37 | 54% | 95% | 100% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | 23 | 0% | 26% | 78% | |
| Psychology | 22 | 0% | 9% | 36% | |
| Business Studies | 20 | 10% | 20% | 55% | |
| Sociology | 19 | 5% | 11% | 68% | |
| Mathematics | 18 | 11% | 39% | 56% | |
| Government and Politics | 16 | 0% | 13% | 63% | |
| Physics | 15 | 0% | 27% | 33% | |
| Chemistry | 11 | 0% | 27% | 27% | |
| Geography | 10 | 0% | 30% | 60% | |
| English Literature | 10 | 0% | 0% | 30% | |
| Fine Art | 7 | 0% | 14% | 100% | |
| Mathematics (Further) | 7 | 14% | 43% | 86% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
No Cambridge offers this year
UCAS apply centre 11158: Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | 0 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | 0 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 59% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 5% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 67% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
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 Hertfordshire 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.