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St Wilfrid's RC College
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Secondary

St Wilfrid's RC College

South Shields, United Kingdom
11 Reviews
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Verified Parents
1.9 /5

11 reviews

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This school is currently rated below 3 stars based on 11 published reviews. Several reviews raise serious concerns, so parents should carry out extra due diligence before considering it for their child.

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About St Wilfrid's RC College

We are a thriving, welcoming school with the highest of expectations for all. Our distinct Catholic ethos, high standards and commitment to every member of our school community make St Wilfrid’s a special place to learn and to grow, allowing each child to become the best version of themselves.

Photos of St Wilfrid's RC College 5

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Key Facts

Head/Principal Mrs C Lennox

Rating Breakdown

Based on published reviews
Safety & Security 2.6
Teaching Quality 2.3
Communication 2.7
Student Wellbeing 3.1
Facilities 2.6

Parent Survey

Official Ofsted Parent View data • 255 responses • 19.1% response rate

View on Ofsted

My child is happy at this school

61.5% positive 35.7% negative

My child feels safe at this school

62.8% positive 35.7% negative

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved

41.2% positive 53.4% negative

The school has high expectations for my child

72.2% positive 22% negative

My child does well at this school

66.3% positive 30.2% negative

I would recommend this school to another parent

Data from Ofsted Parent View as of September 2025. Based on 255 parent responses to the official Ofsted survey.

School Workforce

Teacher and staff information • 2024-2025

Note: These figures are estimated based on national averages. Actual school-level data not yet available.
17.0:1
Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Excellent
78.7
Teachers (FTE)

Estimated workforce data based on GIAS enrollment and national average ratios. Academic year 2024-2025.

Secondary School Results (Key Stage 4)

Exam performance data • 2023-2024

48.1
Attainment 8
Average grade across 8 subjects
-0.27
Progress 8
Below average
46.7%
English & Maths 9-5
Strong pass in both
71.1%
English & Maths 9-4
Standard pass in both

Additional Information

68.9% entered EBacc
32.0% achieved EBacc
225 pupils in cohort

Data from DfE Performance Tables for academic year 2023-2024. Published January 2024. View full performance tables

Reviews 11

P
Parent
Parent Aug 4, 2024
1.0

"Poor Standards at St Wilfrids."

I must admit, I was pleased with the Reception Staff at this school, but what lies behind this is appalling. In particular, the very poor behaviour exhibited by the majority of children let the school down badly. For starters, they do not follow instructions, even after multiple warnings. The amount and degree of "back chat" is disgraceful! Furthermore, some of the Teachers at this school are not supportive at all, even being most rude at times, showing no respect for Supply Staff.
There are a few very good members of Staff in the Maths department, which was pleasing, but two members of the Science team exhibited very poor behaviour themselves. A third teacher in RE has appalling manners and speaks to Supply Teachers as if they are rude children! It is not surprising therefore that the children have very specific nicknames for these three Teachers.
I believe that the main problem at this school is the overbearing and complacent attitude of a number of members of the SLT Team. Even similar staff, visiting classrooms on Emergency Callouts, often have little respect for Supply Staff. Ironically, there are a number of exceptionally pleasant students in the school, who I had the pleasure of speaking with on many occasions.
To be honest, there are no signs of any manners from the majority of children, and the school attempts to hide this behind the "banner" that they are a RC School! Despite this, there are good facilities in the school, but they are mostly abused by the students, who exhibit no sign of respect for, or have no sense of value of, the property. This is certainly not a school that I recommend sending your children to, and the numerous statues of the Mother Mary, together with the Cross of Jesus present in every room, is most certainly a front to disguise the poor standards within the school.
E
Emily T.
Parent Mar 20, 2022
5.0

"Amazing School Experience"

My daughter is in her first year at St Wilfrid's and we are thoroughly impressed with the school's values, facilities, and teachers. The staff are always approachable and supportive, and we feel confident that she is receiving a well-rounded education. We would highly recommend this school to anyone!
Safety & Wellbeing 5/5
Teaching & Learning 5/5
Communication 5/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 5/5
Facilities 5/5
P
Parent
Parent Oct 9, 2021
2.0

"Mental breakdown and anxiety-inducing experience"

Year 7-9 was ok. Year 10 is like a death trap. If surviving Secondary school was a GCSE, I'd get a 6 because of each experience of every school year I had. I actually wish I was back in year 7 because there was pretty much nothing to worry or be anxious about.
Safety & Wellbeing 3/5
Teaching & Learning 2/5
Communication 3/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 3/5
Facilities 2/5
D
David K.
Parent Sep 15, 2021
5.0

"Excellent Support for our Child"

We have been very pleased with the support and guidance our son has received at St Wilfrid's, particularly through the Skills Academy program. The teachers are dedicated and enthusiastic, and we appreciate the strong Catholic ethos of the school. Our son has really thrived here, and we feel grateful to be part of the community.
Safety & Wellbeing 4/5
Teaching & Learning 4/5
Communication 4/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 4/5
Facilities 4/5
P
Parent
Parent Jul 17, 2021
2.0

"Anything good there doesn't last forever"

The school is very bold to assume we can all do a million exams in one week with just last-minute revision. The only thing good is the food and the 1% of the teachers who are actually nice.

The 'Code of Conduct' is like the school itself; a joke. If I got a debit, I wouldn't be scared because I'm in trouble and screwed up a relationship with a teacher, but because IT'S A WASTE OF TIME! I got a debit in Year 7 for something I didn't do. Someone threw my bottle and I tried to get it back and the teachers cancelled me on the spot. Thanks to those teachers I get anxious if someone questions me. Speaking of anxiety and depression, the school is completely ironic to talk about mental health problems and yet it's the cause of some of my problems.

1% of the teachers are nice at times, and I'm thankful they've supported me academically. Unfortunately, nice teachers there don't stay there forever but only 2 years. My french teacher from Year 7-8 **** ******* was one of the best teachers I had but left.

Because of Year group bubbles, it means that the year I'm in is in this tennis/basketball/football court that feels like you're in prison when going for break/lunch.

In general, I'd describe the school as every no-no word there is but not going to say them because 'This is a Catholic School'
Safety & Wellbeing 2/5
Teaching & Learning 2/5
Communication 3/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 2/5
Facilities 2/5
P
Parent
Parent Jun 10, 2021
1.0

"My experience at St wilfrids "

It is an awful school the code system is totally broken with the teachers bending the rules when It suites them and pretending to be friendly and approachable when ofsted are around but when in reality this is far from the case they all have God complexes and think they are a higher human being than you and this has personally annoyed me to say the least no matter how good and satisfying my life outside of school can be inside of St wilfrids it is 90% of the time a stressful and condescending environment


To conclude do not send your children to this nothing short of abismal "school" as they will have an awful time here, thank you for taking the time to read this.
Safety & Wellbeing 1/5
Teaching & Learning 1/5
Communication 1/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 1/5
Facilities 1/5
P
Parent
Parent Jan 14, 2021
1.0

"Outdated "

School dinners were shit
The staff are awful with few good ones
Rules are shit and outdated
Love to bend the rules as they please
** ***** is most definitely a cuck who takes pride in the children’s misery
No other school has the ridiculous rules
Forces their religion on others
Safety & Wellbeing 2/5
Teaching & Learning 1/5
Communication 1/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 5/5
Facilities 2/5
P
Parent
Parent Jan 12, 2021
1.0

"Complaint "

Never enjoyed a single day here the code system is completely random and only applies when teachers think they can give you a code for any reason. Homework is pointless and does nothing to help you in school whatsoever. It needs to be done by a specific standard and you’ll get a code and be told to do it again if you didn’t know how to do it. They don’t care about students in the slightest. The things they tell us to do make no sense. Tell a teacher if anyone bullies you, what happened to sticking up for yourself? They’d just punish you as well if you stuck up for yourself and it really doesn’t teach anyone anything about the outside world after school. They say it’s a privilege to be here but I really don’t think so
Safety & Wellbeing 1/5
Teaching & Learning 1/5
Communication 1/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 1/5
Facilities 1/5
P
Parent
Parent Jan 8, 2021
2.0

"what it’s like being a student in St. Wilfrid’s"

it’s honestly disappointing. the teachers are too harsh on you and they don’t even treat us like people with lives outside of school. and they tell the girls to pull their skirts down? like stop looking there wth. anyways, the food’s great, don’t get me wrong, but the teachers stare at us all the time when we’re sitting down- ALSO, there was this one teacher that says “if someone is hurting you don’t fight them back because that’ll get you into trouble, just tell a teacher immediately.” LIKE WHAT?? it’s called self defence. obviously i want to defend myself because the teachers will just say stop and put them into unit for the next week so shut up. and they don’t even talk about mental health as much as they should. they say “it’s important to have good mental health, do things that make you happy.” like BE QUIET some of the teachers are the reason we’re like this in the 1st place. if you care so much then be nicer to us before we do something to ourselves and stop being inconsiderate. we have complex emotions, teenagers can have mental illnesses, so instead of saying mental health is only basic emotions like “sad, happy, angry” go into the important parts/mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, ADHD etc.
Safety & Wellbeing 2/5
Teaching & Learning 2/5
Communication 3/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 3/5
Facilities 3/5
P
Parent
Parent Jan 3, 2021
1.0

"Secondary school"

I’ve never enjoyed being here
Teaching & Learning 1/5
S
Sarah G.
Parent Feb 28, 2020
3.0

"Mixed Experience"

Our children attended St Wilfrid's a few years ago, and while we appreciated the school's values and facilities, we felt that the academic standards could be higher. The teachers were mostly great, but we did encounter some issues with communication and organization. Overall, it was an okay experience, but not without its challenges.
Safety & Wellbeing 3/5
Teaching & Learning 3/5
Communication 3/5
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing 4/5
Facilities 3/5

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