Birchwood High SchoolSt Mary's Catholic School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Bishop's Stortford.
Summary of the comparison
Birchwood High School and St Mary's Catholic School are secondary schools in Bishop's Stortford.
Birchwood High School scores 55 out of 100 (grade C, average) and St Mary's Catholic School scores 70 out of 100 (grade B, strong). St Mary's Catholic School is ahead on our composite score.
Birchwood High School was judged the expected standard and St Mary's Catholic School was judged strong.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 46.1 for Birchwood High School and 57.6 for St Mary's Catholic School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Birchwood High School (48.2 in 2021-22, 46.1 in 2024-25) and has held broadly level at St Mary's Catholic School (57.5 in 2021-22, 57.6 in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | Bishop's StortfordBirchwood High School | Bishop's StortfordSt Mary's Catholic School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C55/100 | B70/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 60th of 81 in Hertfordshire | 28th of 81 in Hertfordshire Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: StrongStronger figure | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-18 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,454 | 1,121 | |
| Capacity | 1,500 | 1,029 | |
| Location | Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5BD | Bishop's Stortford, CM23 2NQ | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 46.1 | 57.6 Stronger figure | 46.0 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 41.6% | 65.9% Stronger figure | 45.4% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 64.2% | 89.2% Stronger figure | 64.8% |
| Entering EBacc | 35.8% | 67.6% Stronger figure | 40.5% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.02 | 5.33 Stronger figure | 4.09 |
| Cohort | 243 | 185 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 79 | 86 | |
| A-level average points | 32.1 Stronger figure | 29.3 | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C+ | C | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 35.5 Stronger figure | 29.4 | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 10.0% Stronger figure | 9.4% | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,454 | 1,121 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 20.1% | 10.4% | |
| English as an additional language | 12.6% | 25.1% | |
| SEN support | 9.6% | 7.8% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 3.3% | 1.0% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 10.2% | 5.9% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 29.9% | 14.7% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
A-level average points
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Birchwood High School
St Mary's Catholic School
Full profiles: Birchwood High School · St Mary's Catholic School