Welcome to the Schools’ Service of Middlesbrough

The Diocese is home to 53 schools and academies providing Catholic education to 18,188 children and young people. In addition to this, Ampleforth College, an Independent Catholic School is also situated within the Diocesan boundary

The Diocese covers a large historic geographical area, with schools and academies in the 7 Local Authority areas of Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough, Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire, York, East Riding and Kingston upon Hull.

All but one of our schools are members of a Diocesan Catholic Academy Trusts: The two Diocesan Trusts are:

Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust in the north of the Diocese and St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic Academy Trust in the south of the Diocese.

Bishop Terence Patrick Drainey provides Catholic schools to help him as first educator of the Diocese in his mission of making Christ known to all people. The Bishop also provides Catholic schools to support parents who at their child’s baptism accepted the responsibility to raise their child in the Catholic faith.  Finally, the Bishop provides Catholic schools to be a service to their local church, parish and Christian home and to ensure the children and young people who attend Catholic schools give such service to the wider society. It is the mission of all Diocesan schools to contribute to the creation of a society that is highly educated, skilled and cultured making a contribution to the common good of society and its culture.

Whilst we seek to ensure our children and young people develop spiritually, Diocesan schools must educate the whole child, ensuring all our children also achieve their full academic potential.        

It is important then that at the end of the last academic year (2020-21), 85% of Diocesan schools were judged by Ofsted to be providing Good or Outstanding education with the remaining schools already making rapid progress in readiness for further inspection in the near future.  This percentage of good and outstanding schools is in line with the picture for all schools nationally.  In relations to their Diocesan inspections, which separately looks at RE, Collective Worship and Catholic Life, as expected are a greater proportion, 92% of schools, were judged to be good or better in their last inspection report.

I hope you find the information provided both informative and interesting and thank you for your interest in Catholic education in the Diocese of Middlesbrough.

Kate Bailey
Diocesan Schools Commissioner