Icknield High SchoolCardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College

Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Luton.

Summary of the comparison

Icknield High School and Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College are secondary schools in Luton.

  • Icknield High School scores 66 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College scores 64 out of 100 (grade C, average). Icknield High School is ahead on our composite score.

  • Icknield High School was judged Good and Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College was judged Good.

  • On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 49.4 for Icknield High School and 50.0 for Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College.

  • GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Icknield High School (52.1 in 2021-22, 49.4 in 2024-25) and has held broadly level at Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College (51.2 in 2021-22, 50.0 in 2024-25).

Side-by-side comparison

Icknield High School versus Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College compared on inspection, results, pupils and attendance.
Measure LutonIcknield High SchoolLutonCardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science CollegeEngland average
Overview
Our scoreC66/100Stronger figureC64/100
Local ranking5th of 13 in Luton Stronger figure6th of 13 in Luton
InspectionOfsted: GoodOfsted: Good
School typeAcademy converter Academy converter
PhaseSecondary Secondary
Age range11-16 11-18
GenderMixed Mixed
Pupils on roll1,446 1,641
Capacity1,445 1,400
LocationLuton, LU3 2AH Luton, LU2 7AE
GCSE results
Attainment 849.4 50.0 Stronger figure46.0
Grade 5+ in English & maths57.7% Stronger figure46.4% 45.4%
Grade 4+ in English & maths74.0% Stronger figure69.9% 64.8%
Entering EBacc37.4% 82.2% Stronger figure40.5%
EBacc average point score4.41 4.68 Stronger figure4.09
Cohort281 276
A-level results
A-level entriesNot reported111
A-level average pointsNot reported36.1 35.0
A-level average gradeNot reportedB-
Best 3 A-levels pointsNot reported36.4 35.8
AAB+ incl. facilitating subjectsNot reported16.3% 17.5%
Pupils
Pupils in the census1,446 1,641
Free school meals (ever 6)26.3% 18.8%
English as an additional language32.0% 30.5%
SEN support11.1% 11.2%
SEN with an EHC plan2.2% 4.4%
Attendance
Overall absence7.6% 6.5% Stronger figure6.2%
Persistent absence21.2% 17.0% Stronger figure15.8%

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

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.

Icknield High School

Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College

Full profiles: Icknield High School · Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College