Blatchington Mill School
Community school · 1,622 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.0
Voluntary aided school
Cardinal Newman Catholic School
- Pupils on roll
- 2,657of 2,600 places
- Free school meals
- 22.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 365
- Ofsted
- School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next, 8 October 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 359 pupils who finished Year 11 at Cardinal Newman Catholic School in 2023, 52% stayed on in Cardinal Newman Catholic School’s own sixth form (Brighton and Hove average 13%), 9% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 334 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 31% went to university (Brighton and Hove 36%, England 37%), and 29% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
Religious Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 93% of the year group took it, against 31% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 50.4 against 46.1 across England and 46.2 in Brighton and Hove, with 48% 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 Brighton and Hove and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Brighton and Hove | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 359 | 2,405 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 94% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 92% | 90% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 52% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 29% | 55% | 13% |
| — further education college | 9% | 19% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 2% | 2% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Brighton and Hove | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 334 | 3,036 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 78% | 80% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 31% | 36% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 29% | 31% | 19% |
| Further education | 8% | 8% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 7% |
| Employment | 30% | 32% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 13% | 14% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Brighton and Hove | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 50.4 | 46.2 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 48% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 67% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 34% | 53% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.46 | 4.24 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 20% | 27% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 40.2 | 32.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 52.9 | 51.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 27% | 15% | 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 | 361 | 99% | 89% | 18% | 20% | 77% |
| Mathematics | 359 | 98% | 88% | 23% | 22% | 82% |
| Religious Studies | 340 | 93% | 31% | 24% | 32% | 67% |
| English Literature | 321 | 88% | 86% | 18% | 21% | 77% |
| Combined Science | 265 | 73% | 65% | 15% | 9% | 71% |
| History | 183 | 50% | 41% | 36% | 26% | 79% |
| Geography | 116 | 32% | 41% | 28% | 25% | 74% |
| Business Studies | 109 | 30% | 18% | 9% | 20% | 67% |
| Biology | 85 | 23% | 23% | 54% | 45% | 92% |
| Physics | 84 | 23% | 23% | 45% | 46% | 90% |
| Chemistry | 84 | 23% | 23% | 50% | 47% | 93% |
| Design and Technology | 81 | 22% | 11% | 31% | 23% | 84% |
| Spanish | 73 | 20% | 19% | 63% | 27% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 60 | 16% | 13% | 22% | 30% | 68% |
| Fine Art | 54 | 15% | 9% | 39% | 28% | 87% |
| Media Studies | 52 | 14% | 4% | 13% | 20% | 79% |
| French | 49 | 13% | 18% | 51% | 29% | 96% |
| Photography | 47 | 13% | 6% | 28% | 19% | 91% |
| Physical Education | 47 | 13% | 11% | 11% | 24% | 77% |
| German | 33 | 9% | 5% | 61% | 33% | 97% |
| Textiles | 31 | 8% | 2% | 39% | 27% | 90% |
| Drama | 27 | 7% | 7% | 30% | 27% | 93% |
| Dance | 27 | 7% | 1% | 30% | 27% | 85% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 22 | 6% | 8% | 9% | 21% | 50% |
| Music | 19 | 5% | 5% | 58% | 33% | 100% |
| Statistics | 15 | 4% | 5% | 20% | 20% | 100% |
| Polish | 10 | 3% | 1% | 90% | 84% | 100% |
| Italian | 9 | 2% | 0% | 89% | 53% | 100% |
| Russian | 4 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Chinese | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Portuguese | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Modern Greek | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Japanese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 37 | 15% | — |
| Health Studies | 37 | 15% | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 21 | 8% | — |
| Tourism | 16 | 6% | — |
| Mathematics | 16 | 6% | — |
| Music performance: Group | 15 | 6% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Brighton and Hove | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 777 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 250 | 2,662 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | B | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 37.88 | 38.79 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 27% | 19% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 74 | 30% | 31% |
| Psychology | 33 | 13% | 23% |
| Biology | 32 | 13% | 20% |
| Physics | 32 | 13% | 12% |
| Business Studies | 31 | 12% | 13% |
| Sociology | 31 | 12% | 13% |
| Chemistry | 28 | 11% | 17% |
| Economics | 27 | 11% | 13% |
| Religious Studies | 26 | 10% | 4% |
| Geography | 24 | 10% | 10% |
| History | 21 | 8% | 13% |
| Product Design | 20 | 8% | 2% |
| Further Mathematics | 18 | 7% | 5% |
| Computer Science | 16 | 6% | 5% |
| Politics | 16 | 6% | 6% |
| Physical Education | 13 | 5% | 3% |
| English Language | 12 | 5% | 4% |
| English Literature | 11 | 4% | 11% |
| Graphic Communication | 10 | 4% | 2% |
| Photography | 9 | 4% | 3% |
| Law | 9 | 4% | 4% |
| Media Studies | 8 | 3% | 4% |
| German | 7 | 3% | 0% |
| Film Studies | 7 | 3% | 2% |
| Spanish | 6 | 2% | 2% |
| Textiles | 6 | 2% | 1% |
| Fine Art | 6 | 2% | 3% |
| French | 6 | 2% | 1% |
| Dance | — | — | 0% |
| Classical Civilisation | — | — | 1% |
| Mathematics (Statistics) | — | — | 0% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Polish | — | — | 0% |
| Portuguese | — | — | 0% |
| Drama | — | — | 2% |
| Italian | — | — | 0% |
| Japanese | — | — | 0% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Science | VRQ Level 3 | 43 | 17% | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 39 | 16% | — |
| Law / Legal Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 26 | 10% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 26 | 10% | — |
| Applied Sciences | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 21 | 8% | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 19 | 8% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 16 | 6% | — |
| Computer Architecture / Systems | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | 14 | 6% | — |
| Business Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 14 | 6% | — |
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 14 | 6% | — |
| Applied Sciences | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | 7 | 3% | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (All) | 7 | 3% | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | 7 | 3% | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Foundation Diploma L3 - Band H - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Tourism | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Music Technology (Electronic) | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | BTEC National Extended Certificate L3 - Band F - P-D* | — | — | — |
| Health Studies | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | — | — | — |
| Sports Studies | BTEC Level 3 National Certificate (Band D) | — | — | — |
| Law / Legal Studies | BTEC Level 3 National Certificate (Band D) | — | — | — |
| Economics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Economics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Computing and IT Advanced Technician | BTEC National Diploma L3 - Band J - PP-D*D* | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Brighton and Hove
Brighton Aldridge Community Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 808 pupils
75% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.2
Dorothy Stringer School
Community school · 1,626 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.3
Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre
Community school · sixth form · 941 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.1
King's School
Free schools · sixth form · 925 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.7
Longhill High School
Community school · 632 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 32.9
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.