St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow
Secondary · Academy converter · Ages 11–16 · Barrow-in-Furness, Westmorland and Furness
Last distance offered · Year 7 2024
Every applicant was offered a place
From Westmorland and Furness Council · offers on 1 March 2024
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow is a secondary school in Barrow-in-Furness, Westmorland and Furness for ages 11–16 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 27 September 2022. Westmorland and Furness has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2024 entry.
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2024 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- In 2024/25, 23% of pupils got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), with an Attainment 8 score of 34.6 (England 46).
- For Year 7 in 2026 there were 97 first-choice applications for 123 offers, 0.8 first choices per offer and the lowest of 17 Westmorland and Furness secondary schools.
- Every first-choice family was offered a Year 7 place in 2026, and 26 offers went to families who ranked it second or lower.
- Of its pupils, 28% are eligible for free school meals, against a middle figure of 16% across the 8 nearest secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Westmorland and Furness schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Rating Lane, Barrow-in-Furness, LA13 9LE
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- Westmorland and Furness
- Pupils on roll
- 624 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 28% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 27 September 2022
Strengths
- “St Bernard’s Catholic High School is a positive learning community which values kindness, hard work and resilience.”
- “Pupils appreciate the strong relationships that they forge with staff.”
- “Pupils feel valued as individuals.”
To improve
- “However, the proportion of pupils following the full English Baccalaureate (EBacc) suite of subjects in key stage 4 is low.”
- “In a small number of subjects, leaders’ curriculum thinking is less well developed.”
- “In these subjects, leaders have not ensured that teachers emphasise the key knowledge that pupils should learn.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 15 November 2022 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 23% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 34.6 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 97 first-preference applications, 123 offers in total, 97 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Westmorland and Furness.
- Furness Academy 1.0 mi Good Last distance published
- Dowdales School 2.1 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Walney Academy 2.9 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Ulverston Victoria High School 5.9 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Cartmel Priory CofE School 11.2 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- John Ruskin School 17.2 mi Improved significantly Last distance published
- Dallam School 18.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- The Lakes School 21.3 mi Standards maintained Last distance published