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St Damian's RC Science College

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Voluntary aided school in Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 8BH, taking ages 11 to 16, 829 on roll.

No current grade Ofsted
4.223 mi Admitted from, varies
100% Full

Will an address get in?

In the varies round, the furthest-away child offered a place at St Damian's RC Science College lived 4.223 miles away, according to Tameside. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close on 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.

The circle is 4.223 miles, the distance the school admitted from in varies. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.

This is not a catchment area. Most English schools do not have one. When St Damian's RC Science College 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. 4.223 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.

What kind of school this is

AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterRoman Catholic
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 829 pupils in 825 places (100% full)
Local authorityTameside

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Attainment 8 55.1 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 +0.24
2022/23 +0.50

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

Who goes to St Damian's RC Science College

Girls and boys52.8% girls, 47.2% boys
English as an additional language21.1% of pupils
Free school meals25.9% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where St Damian's RC Science College's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form5.7%
Sixth-form college48.3%
Further education college35.1%
Apprenticeship2.3%
Employment2.9%
No sustained destination recorded4.0%

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 Damian's RC Science College

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 4.223 miles the school admitted from in varies, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is OL1 at £131,000; the dearest, M43, £213,500. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
OL1 Oldham 3.1 mi £131,000 55 sales
OL6 Tameside 1.1 mi £150,000 96 sales
OL8 Oldham 2.0 mi £150,000 98 sales
SK15 Tameside 2.0 mi £160,000 151 sales
OL9 Oldham 3.5 mi £172,000 88 sales
OL7 Tameside 1.8 mi £179,100 36 sales
M35 Oldham 3.2 mi £180,000 107 sales
M34 Tameside 4.0 mi £180,000 72 sales
OL5 Tameside 1.7 mi £185,000 97 sales
SK16 Tameside 2.4 mi £200,000 101 sales
OL4 Oldham 2.3 mi £210,000 110 sales
M43 Tameside 3.5 mi £213,500 75 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing St Damian's RC Science College against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around OL6: ages, selection, and how full each one is →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for St Damian's RC Science College?

St Damian's RC Science College 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 varies lived 4.223 miles away, per Tameside.

How close do I need to live to get a place at St Damian's RC Science College?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 4.223 miles was enough in varies, 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 Damian's RC Science College 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 Tameside school's distance

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

Admission distance published by Tameside. 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.