St James' Catholic High School is a state-maintained secondary school in Cheadle, United Kingdom with 824 pupils. Ofsted: Report card, 28 April 2026: strong standard in 1 area, expected standard in 5; safeguarding met. As of 10 November 2026 it is advertising 1 vacancy: Assistant Site Supervisor (closes 20 November).
Listed on EduAtlas: the school’s official record and its live vacancies. 1 live vacancy.
Head
Anthony Pontifex, Headteacher
Type
State-maintained, Secondary
Pupils
824 pupils · 52% girls · 15.2% eligible for free school meals · 9.3% with English as an additional language DfE school census, 2025/26
Special needs
77 (9.3%) on SEN support · 35 (4.2%) with an education, health and care plan DfE, Special educational needs in England, 2025/26
Purpose of the post To support the Site Manager in all premises related aspects across the school Responsibilities To ensure that the premises are kept secure and safe and in good…
Exam results
Year
Attainment 8
Grade 5+ Eng. & maths
2025/26 provisional
52.4
51.5%
2024/25
51.1
46.1%
2023/24
52.9
58.9%
Department for Education performance tables. Attainment 8 is the average score across eight GCSE-level subjects (out of 90). Grade 5+ is the share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Provisional figures can change when the revised tables are published. Progress 8 is not published for 2024/25 or 2025/26.
Inspections
Report card (28 April 2026)
Inclusion
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development and well-being
Strong standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Safeguarding
Met
Date
Inspection
Outcome
28 April 2026
Report card
Strong standard in 1 area, expected standard in 5; safeguarding met
23 February 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good
Ofsted. Inspections graded schools Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate until August 2024. From September 2024 there were no overall grades; since November 2025 a report card grades each area: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention or urgent improvement.
Staff
Year
Teachers
Pupils per teacher
Leavers
Vacancies
Average pay
2025/26
45.8
18.0
–
0
£54,278
2024/25
45.6
18.1
7%
0
£48,329
2023/24
44.0
18.7
21%
3
£45,134
2022/23
47.2
17.1
21%
0
£41,963
2021/22
46.8
17.2
15%
0
£42,678
2020/21
48.0
16.6
13%
0
£41,849
Earlier years (2010/11 to 2019/20)
Year
Teachers
Pupils per teacher
Leavers
Vacancies
Average pay
2019/20
45.2
17.7
14%
0
£40,891
2018/19
47.2
16.8
26%
0
£40,347
2017/18
47.6
16.7
13%
0
£41,500
2016/17
49.2
16.2
7%
0
£39,735
2015/16
53.4
14.8
21%
0
£38,692
2014/15
49.2
16.3
13%
0
£38,490
2013/14
45.9
17.5
4%
0
£37,215
2012/13
50.0
16.3
16%
0
£37,486
2011/12
51.4
15.6
19%
0
£38,987
2010/11
49.1
16.1
10%
0
£38,925
Department for Education, School Workforce Census. Teachers are full-time equivalent. "Leavers" is the share of teachers who moved to another state school or left state schools by the following November, so the latest year has none yet. Vacancies are posts vacant or filled temporarily on census day in November. Average pay is for all teachers, leaders included.
Attendance
Year
Sessions missed
Unauthorised
Persistently absent
Severely absent
2025/26
6.9%
1.0%
17.4%
2.3%
2024/25
6.1%
0.8%
12.6%
2.2%
2023/24
5.2%
0.7%
13.0%
1.1%
2022/23
5.9%
1.4%
14.9%
1.7%
2021/22
6.7%
1.2%
19.1%
1.7%
2020/21
2.7%
0.5%
6.6%
0.3%
Earlier years (2016/17 to 2018/19)
Year
Sessions missed
Unauthorised
Persistently absent
Severely absent
2018/19
4.6%
0.9%
8.5%
1.3%
2017/18
5.9%
1.0%
14.0%
1.1%
2016/17
4.4%
0.9%
8.0%
0.7%
Department for Education, pupil absence statistics, autumn and spring terms of each year so years compare. Persistently absent: share of pupils who missed 10% or more of sessions. Severely absent: share who missed half or more. There are no figures for 2019/20 (school closures).
Hiring history
1 past vacancy seen since May 2026: 1 support. Most often advertised: Assistant Site Supervisor. Last advertised October 2026.
Counted from the job services and school websites EduAtlas reads; a school may also advertise elsewhere.
Register details and head: Department for Education, Get Information about Schools. Results: Department for Education performance tables. Vacancies: public job services and the school's own website, checked continuously. Nothing here is estimated.