Bramhall High School
Community school · 1,295 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.7
Voluntary aided school
St James' Catholic High School
- Pupils on roll
- 824of 825 places
- Free school meals
- 15.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 165
- Ofsted
- Report card, 28 April 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Expected standardAchievement Expected standardAttendance and behaviour Expected standardPersonal development and wellbeing Strong standardInclusion Expected standardLeadership and governance Expected standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
What the data says
St James' Catholic High School has no sixth form. Of the 156 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 62% moved to a sixth form college, 21% to a further education college and 4% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 62% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
Religious Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 96% of the year group took it, against 31% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 51.1 against 46.1 across England and 47.1 in Stockport, with 46% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Stockport and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Stockport | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 156 | 3,116 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 95% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 6% | 8% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 62% | 41% | 13% |
| — further education college | 21% | 34% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Stockport | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 51.1 | 47.1 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 49% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 67% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 46% | 49% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.60 | 4.26 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 15% | 25% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 36.1 | 34.6 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 53.7 | 51.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 14% | 12% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 163 | 99% | 89% | 25% | 20% | 77% |
| Mathematics | 163 | 99% | 88% | 31% | 22% | 79% |
| English Literature | 161 | 98% | 86% | 24% | 21% | 77% |
| Religious Studies | 158 | 96% | 31% | 32% | 32% | 64% |
| Combined Science | 117 | 71% | 65% | 18% | 9% | 63% |
| Geography | 95 | 58% | 41% | 26% | 25% | 68% |
| Spanish | 57 | 35% | 19% | 25% | 27% | 68% |
| History | 55 | 33% | 41% | 33% | 26% | 64% |
| Physics | 46 | 28% | 23% | 33% | 46% | 87% |
| Chemistry | 46 | 28% | 23% | 41% | 47% | 89% |
| Biology | 46 | 28% | 23% | 37% | 45% | 91% |
| Business Studies | 41 | 25% | 18% | 10% | 20% | 59% |
| Physical Education | 37 | 22% | 11% | 27% | 24% | 89% |
| Design and Technology | 22 | 13% | 11% | 9% | 23% | 59% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 21 | 13% | 8% | 14% | 21% | 62% |
| Fine Art | 20 | 12% | 9% | 25% | 28% | 100% |
| French | 13 | 8% | 18% | 31% | 29% | 100% |
| Music | 13 | 8% | 5% | 54% | 33% | 77% |
| German | 10 | 6% | 5% | 50% | 33% | 90% |
| Drama | 9 | 5% | 7% | 33% | 27% | 78% |
| Chinese | 5 | 3% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Polish | 5 | 3% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Russian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Statistics | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 1% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 28 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 14 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Stockport
Cheadle Hulme High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,690 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 60.7
Harrytown Catholic High School
Voluntary aided school · 792 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.6
Hazel Grove High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,452 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.6
Laurus Cheadle Hulme
Free schools · 1,054 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.5
Marple Hall School
Academy converter · 1,590 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.5
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.