Birches Head Academy
Academy converter · 925 pupils
69% stayed in education · Attainment 8 31.3
Academy converter
St Joseph's College
- Pupils on roll
- 1,104of 1,115 places
- Free school meals
- 8.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 152
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 29 April 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: St Joseph's College (URN 131301, until 1 February 2011).
What the data says
Of the 152 pupils who finished Year 11 at St Joseph's College in 2023, 74% stayed on in St Joseph's College’s own sixth form (Stoke-on-Trent average 11%), 16% went to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 207 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 64% went to university (Stoke-on-Trent 34%, England 37%), and 29% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 62.4 against 46.1 across England and 39.8 in Stoke-on-Trent, with 78% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, St Joseph's College admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 74% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.
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 Stoke-on-Trent and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | St Joseph's College | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 152 | 2,796 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 100% | 87% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 97% | 79% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 74% | 11% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 5% | 17% | 13% |
| — further education college | 16% | 49% | 37% |
| — other education | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 0% | 10% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 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 | St Joseph's College | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 207 | 1,993 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 75% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 64% | 34% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 29% | 13% | 19% |
| Further education | 3% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 7% | 7% |
| Employment | 16% | 27% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 19% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | St Joseph's College | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 62.4 | 39.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 78% | 33% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 91% | 54% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 91% | 28% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.94 | 3.38 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 3% | 38% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | — | 31.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | — | 44.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 25% | 24% | 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 | 152 | 100% | 89% | 37% | 20% | 94% |
| Mathematics | 152 | 100% | 88% | 38% | 22% | 93% |
| English Literature | 152 | 100% | 86% | 41% | 21% | 94% |
| Religious Studies | 151 | 99% | 31% | 43% | 32% | 79% |
| Spanish | 113 | 74% | 19% | 34% | 27% | 73% |
| Geography | 96 | 63% | 41% | 58% | 25% | 94% |
| Combined Science | 82 | 54% | 65% | 20% | 9% | 84% |
| Biology | 70 | 46% | 23% | 64% | 45% | 99% |
| Physics | 70 | 46% | 23% | 53% | 46% | 97% |
| Chemistry | 68 | 45% | 23% | 60% | 47% | 99% |
| History | 59 | 39% | 41% | 39% | 26% | 85% |
| Physical Education | 44 | 29% | 11% | 32% | 24% | 93% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 40 | 26% | 8% | 43% | 21% | 95% |
| Fine Art | 32 | 21% | 9% | 38% | 28% | 97% |
| French | 29 | 19% | 18% | 55% | 29% | 86% |
| Design and Technology | 28 | 18% | 11% | 39% | 23% | 89% |
| Textiles | 19 | 13% | 2% | 68% | 27% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 17 | 11% | 13% | 41% | 30% | 88% |
| Drama | 9 | 6% | 7% | 44% | 27% | 100% |
| Music | 4 | 3% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speech and Drama | 25 | 14% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | St Joseph's College | Stoke-on-Trent | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 377 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 184 | 670 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C+ | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 33.90 | 33.28 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | C+ | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 16% | 14% | 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 | 82 | 45% | 31% |
| Biology | 74 | 40% | 20% |
| Chemistry | 73 | 40% | 17% |
| Psychology | 49 | 27% | 23% |
| Economics | 30 | 16% | 13% |
| History | 29 | 16% | 13% |
| Business Studies | 29 | 16% | 13% |
| English Literature | 27 | 15% | 11% |
| Physics | 22 | 12% | 12% |
| Sociology | 22 | 12% | 13% |
| Politics | 18 | 10% | 6% |
| Geography | 15 | 8% | 10% |
| Spanish | 10 | 5% | 2% |
| Further Mathematics | 10 | 5% | 5% |
| Computer Science | 10 | 5% | 5% |
| Fine Art | 8 | 4% | 3% |
| French | 7 | 4% | 1% |
| English Language and Literature | — | — | 2% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Physical Education | — | — | 3% |
| Product Design | — | — | 2% |
| Drama | — | — | 2% |
| Religious Studies | — | — | 4% |
| Textiles | — | — | 1% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | — | — | — |
| History | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| History | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Applied Sciences | VRQ Level 3 | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent
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79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.7
Discovery Academy
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76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.4
Haywood Academy
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Ormiston Horizon Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,029 pupils
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Ormiston Meridian Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,015 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.2
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.