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
Stopsley High School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,046of 1,350 places
- Free school meals
- 32.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 198
- Ofsted
- Good, 13 September 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Stopsley High School (URN 109713, until 1 September 2021).
What the data says
Stopsley High School has no sixth form. Of the 222 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 36% moved to a sixth form college, 44% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 36% of leavers went to one, roughly twice the England rate of 13%.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 39% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 42.3 against 46.1 across England and 45.0 in Luton, with 38% 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 | Stopsley High School | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 222 | 3,003 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 89% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 86% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 5% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 36% | 47% | 13% |
| — further education college | 44% | 27% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Stopsley High School | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 42.3 | 45.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 25% | 49% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.47 | 4.05 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 30% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 33.8 | 38.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 46.0 | 48.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 36% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 196 | 99% | 88% | 16% | 22% | 68% |
| English Language | 196 | 99% | 89% | 16% | 20% | 63% |
| English Literature | 193 | 97% | 86% | 15% | 21% | 69% |
| Combined Science | 139 | 70% | 65% | 1% | 9% | 38% |
| History | 101 | 51% | 41% | 15% | 26% | 50% |
| Sociology | 78 | 39% | 4% | 21% | 21% | 56% |
| Geography | 62 | 31% | 41% | 15% | 25% | 47% |
| Physics | 56 | 28% | 23% | 30% | 46% | 77% |
| Biology | 56 | 28% | 23% | 25% | 45% | 88% |
| Chemistry | 56 | 28% | 23% | 29% | 47% | 79% |
| Religious Studies | 56 | 28% | 31% | 27% | 32% | 64% |
| Physical Education | 56 | 28% | 11% | 14% | 24% | 52% |
| Design and Technology | 46 | 23% | 11% | 13% | 23% | 72% |
| Fine Art | 40 | 20% | 9% | 18% | 28% | 55% |
| Spanish | 39 | 20% | 19% | 28% | 27% | 64% |
| Computer Science | 37 | 19% | 13% | 8% | 30% | 65% |
| Music | 25 | 13% | 5% | 12% | 33% | 48% |
| Drama | 24 | 12% | 7% | 13% | 27% | 38% |
| French | 19 | 10% | 18% | 11% | 29% | 42% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 14 | 7% | 8% | 14% | 21% | 43% |
| Dance | 10 | 5% | 1% | 0% | 27% | 40% |
| Polish | 7 | 4% | 1% | 100% | 84% | 100% |
| Urdu | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Italian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Turkish | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Modern Greek | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Punjabi | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 48% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Skills | 59 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 50 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 41 | — | — |
Where Stopsley High School is
Other secondary schools in Luton are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Luton’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Luton
Challney High School for Boys
Academy converter · 1,197 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.7
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
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.