Challenges for leadership in Catholic schools in upholding the preferential option for the poor and disadvantaged in today’s climate: a case study

Catholic schools have a tradition of providing good quality education to the Catholic community, with care and attention to the poor and deprived. Studies within Catholic education and secular institutions have claimed that academic results from Catholic schools continually show excellent results. This study investigates the extent to which this tradition is maintained within a case study Catholic comprehensive voluntary-aided secondary school, comparing its results with national GSCE results. As in any other school, Catholic school leaders are challenged to maintain and improve standards of education within their schools. With growing pressures and increasing levels of child deprivation within the UK, can a London borough Catholic school uphold the tradition of serving the poorest well? This dissertation looks to analyse GSCE results of a school over a 3 year period. Leadership in Catholic schools face many challenges and changes over the next few years, and so this dissertation will explore potential attributes to academic success in this Catholic secondary school. The results of this investigation indicate that the pupils in this school do better than the national average for year 11 pupils. Free School Meals pupils do as well as non-Free School Meal pupils. RAISEonline shows that pupils at the school achieve levels of progress from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 that are significantly above the national average.