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St James' Catholic High School

Voluntary aided school in Cheadle, SK8 6PZ, taking ages 11 to 16, 824 on roll.

Report card Ofsted, Apr 2026
2.7 mi Admitted from, 2026/27
100% Full
51.1 Attainment 8, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 2.7 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.

The circle is 2.7 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.

St James' Catholic High School: 2.7 miles, 2026/27 Bradshaw Hall Primary School: 0.62 miles, 2026/27, published by Stockport

This is not a catchment area. 2.7 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When St James' Catholic High School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.

Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children and faith criteria come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.

Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

One published year so far: 2026/27, from Stockport. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.

Source: Stockport, published admission distances, 2026/27

Where St James' Catholic High School and Bradshaw Hall Primary School are both in reach

Both distances are drawn on the map above. Bradshaw Hall Primary School admitted from 0.62 miles in 2026/27, published by Stockport. Its own page has the rest of its figures.

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is SK8 at £350,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom St James' Catholic High SchoolFrom Bradshaw Hall Primary SchoolMedian sold price
SK8 Stockport 1.4 mi 0.5 mi £350,000 97 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.

Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.

Drop Bradshaw Hall Primary School and go back to one school.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Stockport, 55 of 267 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (20.6%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.

Other schools nearby with a published distance

The closest schools to St James' Catholic High School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Thorn Grove Primary School Both in reach Primary 2.43 mi 2026/27 0.3 mi
Cheadle Hulme High School Both in reach Secondary 0.96 mi 2026/27 0.6 mi
Hursthead Infant School Both in reach Primary 1.74 mi 2026/27 0.7 mi
Bradshaw Hall Primary School Both in reach Primary 0.62 mi 2026/27 0.9 mi
Moss Hey Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.71 mi 2026/27 0.9 mi
Outwood Primary School Both in reach Primary 5.08 mi 2026/27 0.9 mi

The distance as a picture

St James' Catholic High School catchment area map: the 2.7 mile admission distance, 2026/27 and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterRoman Catholic
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 824 pupils in 825 places (100% full)
Local authorityStockport

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Report card, April 2026: 1 area strong or exceptional, 5 at the expected standard
Report card
  • Safeguarding Met
  • Inclusion Expected standard
  • Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
  • Achievement Expected standard
  • Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
  • Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
  • Early years Not applicable
  • Post-16 provision Not applicable
  • Leadership and governance Expected standard
Ofsted stopped giving schools a single overall grade in 2024; from November 2025 each area is judged on this five-point scale.
Attainment 8 51.1 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 +0.23
2022/23 +0.23

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to St James' Catholic High School

Girls and boys52.1% girls, 47.9% boys
English as an additional language9.3% of pupils
Free school meals15.2% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where St James' Catholic High School's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form5.8%
Sixth-form college61.5%
Further education college20.5%
Apprenticeship3.8%
Employment2.6%
No sustained destination recorded3.8%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of St James' Catholic High School

Cheapest district inside the 2.7 miles: SK9, median £265,000. Dearest: SK7, £360,000.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
SK9 Cheshire East 2.5 mi £265,000 43 sales
SK8 Stockport 1.4 mi £350,000 97 sales
SK7 Stockport 2.3 mi £360,000 100 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 2.7 miles the school admitted from in 2026/27, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.

Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide

Getting to St James' Catholic High School by bus

Best-served stop: St James' Way, 155 yd away, with 3.4 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 04:30, last 22:50.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
St James' School21 yd0.20.00.0758B, 853, 857
St James' School38 yd0.10.00.0813
St James' School57 yd0.20.00.0811, 812

These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.

Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing St James' Catholic High School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SK8: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SK8 6PZ, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for St James' Catholic High School?

St James' Catholic High School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2026/27 lived 2.7 miles away, per Stockport.

How close do I need to live to get a place at St James' Catholic High School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 2.7 miles was enough in 2026/27, and at 100% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near St James' Catholic High School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Stockport school's distance

All Stockport schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put St James' Catholic High School's figure on your own site

A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.

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St James' Catholic High School badge

Admission distance published by Stockport. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.