Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,655 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.0
Academy converter
Challney High School for Boys
- Pupils on roll
- 1,197of 1,212 places
- Free school meals
- 30.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 229
- Ofsted
- Outstanding, 7 November 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Challney High School for Boys and Community College (URN 109681, until 1 April 2011).
What the data says
Challney High School for Boys has no sixth form. Of the 234 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 70% moved to a sixth form college, 18% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 70% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
French is unusually popular at GCSE: 40% of the year group took it, against 18% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 47.7 against 46.1 across England and 45.0 in Luton, with 54% 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 Luton and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 234 | 3,003 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 95% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 94% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 6% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 70% | 47% | 13% |
| — further education college | 18% | 27% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | — | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 47.7 | 45.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 42% | 49% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.21 | 4.05 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 29% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 44.3 | 38.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.1 | 48.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 76% | 49% | 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 | 227 | 99% | 89% | 20% | 20% | 68% |
| Mathematics | 227 | 99% | 88% | 23% | 22% | 71% |
| English Literature | 226 | 99% | 86% | 31% | 21% | 79% |
| Combined Science | 204 | 89% | 65% | 8% | 9% | 54% |
| History | 122 | 53% | 41% | 31% | 26% | 57% |
| Religious Studies | 116 | 51% | 31% | 22% | 32% | 64% |
| French | 91 | 40% | 18% | 31% | 29% | 85% |
| Geography | 88 | 38% | 41% | 15% | 25% | 63% |
| Business Studies | 44 | 19% | 18% | 41% | 20% | 95% |
| Computer Science | 44 | 19% | 13% | 39% | 30% | 95% |
| Citizenship Studies | 42 | 18% | 3% | 21% | 19% | 79% |
| Graphic Communication | 30 | 13% | 1% | 20% | 23% | 87% |
| Biology | 22 | 10% | 23% | 77% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 22 | 10% | 23% | 82% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 22 | 10% | 23% | 82% | 47% | 100% |
| Applied Engineering | 18 | 8% | 0% | 22% | 18% | 72% |
| Photography | 15 | 7% | 6% | 27% | 19% | 100% |
| Fine Art | 12 | 5% | 9% | 8% | 28% | 92% |
| Sociology | 10 | 4% | 4% | 20% | 21% | 100% |
| Arabic | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Spanish | 1 | 0% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| German | 1 | 0% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Urdu | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 63 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 61 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 58 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 20 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Luton
Challney High School for Girls
Academy converter · 1,062 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.1
Chiltern Academy
Free schools · 1,203 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.5
Denbigh High School
Academy converter · 1,130 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.6
Icknield High School
Academy converter · 1,452 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.4
Lealands High School
Foundation school · 1,025 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.3
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.