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Painsley Catholic College

SecondaryStoke-on-Trent
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Reviews

2.4

Based on 18 reviews and 149 answers

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  • Student
    1.0
    26 February 2026

    Dead ahh school

    honestly the first thing they should change is the rules, like this tuck your shirts in rule or don't wear white socks rules are actually so shit like when I go through the gates, the teacher are standing at the front staring at your waists in an uncomfortable way just to check if your shirt isn't in your pants, it got so crazy that teachers stated giving after schools just for not fucking tucking your shirt in, that's like breathing=straight detention, and this hair rule? fuck you what the hell...

  • Former Student
    1.0
    8 November 2025

    Awful School

    Worst school in the country. The teachers are rude and careless and they do nothing about bullying until you stick up for yourself and then they punish you for it. The assessments every 6 weeks is ridiculous they work the poor students to death I’m glad I left in 2020. In PE they expect the girls to wear a skort and socks in -1 degree weather. They claim to care about mental health but they don’t care whatsoever I would not recommend this school at all. The only reason why it has a good pass rat...

  • Student
    1.0
    21 January 2025

    no no go

    school bad xx bullied xoxoxoxoxoxox

  • Former Student
    1.0
    3 July 2024

    Would not recommend

    Wouldn’t recommend at all. Yes the school may get good results but it comes at a cost of very poor mental health, constant pressure of homework, interventions before and after school, which you are told is compulsory and work set through every school holiday resulting in having no down time at all no time to just switch off. Their belief is that learning should continue therefore meaning that students shouldn’t be taking a break again leading to poor mental health. As a school, they have no idea how to deal with mental health which is ironic due to the fact that they have won an award. Their idea of support is the complete opposite of what support really looks like. There is nothing done about bullying. Most teachers aren’t prepared to adapt to different learning styles which you could question why they became teachers in the first place. It is essentially you learn their way or no way at all. As a result, if you don’t understand something, help is not given. I.e. told by a teacher, ‘I can’t help you, you are on your own’. The lower sets aren’t treated the as equally as the top sets. They aren’t pushed enough therefore there are no chances of moving up. A lot of the issues I’ve had with school have been fobbed off and covered up in order to keep their reputation intact. Furthermore, there is the lack of facilities for example, places to eat and toilet breaks. Also, there is not enough time to eat and go to the toilet in 40 minutes due to the sheer amount of students that are all trying to do the same thing. There is not enough facilities for the amount of students in this school. Overall, most staff are rude, the receptionists however are very polite and helpful and there are very few teachers who do care about the students rather than their reputation.

  • Student
    1.0
    9 March 2024

    Disgusting behaviour from teachers

    A school where they think its acceptable for teachers to bully a child about their sexual identity, where a 12 child is bullied for having hair on their legs and another Child gives the bullied child a razor.... a parent calls to discuss this and is ignored from the school

  • Former Student
    3.0
    14 August 2023

    Painsley

    I went to painsley in 2011-2017 and I don’t remember much about it apart from towards the end they tried to say I wasn’t really ill and I was faking it a lot. I don’t remember year seven that much as I was really ill and I was only in for a month but in year eight I was in for about 4 months on and off and the head of year was amazing never judged me and always helped me when I needed it and even helped me get gluten free food sorted in the canteen, but unfortunately he left and this is when things started to get bad. Year 9 I was in for half the year again but I do remember having a pastoral teacher and then having a different one half way through as they left no wonder why. Year10 I was in most of the year because there was a teacher there that said I was not that ill and shouldn’t be going home unless she said so. Even when I fell down the stairs and the doctor told my parents that I needed bed rest she told me to come in and I can sit on a soft chair and leave class early if I need, basically taking my parents responsibility for out of their hands. In the last year I only had 9 days of and even then they questioned it but when one of the deputy heads told me to work in his office, he rung my parents as I had some bloods done as I still wasn’t feeling well in the medical bay, where he found me, they told him I was anemic and he sent me home and told them to ring him if I was still not feeling well. If he wasn’t there then I don’t know what I would have done he helped me a lot with my course work in the last year before my GCSE’s and he was my French teacher too. They don’t seem to care about the bullying there but if find a place in library or in the toilets I find they don’t bother you at all. If I know what I now know about what is wrong with me (having UC) I would off handled my health a bit better and the school would have had to support me abit more then they did.

  • Student
    1.0
    3 August 2023

    i am a pupil at painsley, and this is my honest opinion

    rubbish school, do not send your children here unless you hate them and their future. the teachers are a bunch of weak, hipocritical liars that only value the money not the students. there is fights between students and students every few days, and occasionally fights between students and teachers. it seems innocent from the outside, and on the inside, if you are a parent briefly visiting, but if you are actually a pupil there, like me you see what it is really like. the vast majority of teachers seem to enjoy the pain they see in the students eyes as they give them detention. very few, less than 10, are nice teachers who are kind. this school is not bad in terms of education, but you just dont get anything done. at all. i apologise if my grammar/spelling is bad, i am taught in painsley.

  • Student
    1.0
    8 July 2023

    Bad school

    Teachers are not very nice or co operative when you have troubles or worries. Not loads of good options

  • Former Student
    1.0
    5 June 2023

    Knife throwing

    A child got hit by a knife on the day5/june/2023, and the teachers did not do anything Would not recommend if you want your child to be safe

  • Former Student
    1.0
    18 May 2023

    so bad

    this school is not recommended and to much homework and strict the rules are stupid like no shorts or no hair under a grade 3 and half of the teacher are dumb and pedophiles

  • Student
    4.0
    21 April 2023

    it's alr

    the skl is ,although strict and petty, not as bad as people make out. yes the rules are useless for the most part, and teachers can be miserable when they don't know what they're doing, but there is much worse schools out there with actual knife fights and stuff. the only really bad thing is teachers but as far as safety goes it's a pretty safe place to be and with bullying and mental health, they do help you or sort it out if you tell someone about it

  • Former Student
    1.0
    31 October 2022

    My honest experience

    Ah, so here we will begin on the ruthless, and almost somewhat pointless crusade on trying to adequately explain the hell that this high school managed to put me through in a short span of four and a half years. And I say four because in the end I was let off in 2020 because of COVID-19 related issues. I will be going in to a lot of depth in this review, and there will be many passive aggressive and insulting comments towards a number of staff and students alike, all rooting from the eternal rag...

  • Former Student
    2.0
    4 July 2022

    Former student (6 years ago)

    Awful. Throughout year 10 and half of year 11, I was very unwell, and as a result was in and out of hospital and unable to attend, during this period it felt like they had essentially abandoned me. On return to the school they tried to manipulate my parents into signing a document that unknown to her would essentially release me from their school just 1 month before I was to take me GCSE’s, after this didn’t go through, they found some dodgy (maybe illegal) loophole in the system and tried to make me pay for my own GCSE’s (despite knowing I was from a low income household with a single mother.) We got the council involved and essentially threatened to sue them. They then paid for me to take only my maths and English foundation GCSE’s at a different school as they didn’t want my bad grades to affect their results (I passed both of them) Since this I have worked in 3 different schools so I have good knowledge and understanding of SEN care and pastoral care that should be given to students, none of which was ever done to a good enough standard for a school that considers them self the all high and mighty. Painsley never let me feel like a normal child, only worsened my already decreasing self esteem. But I praise my lucky stars that I went there, to get an idea of what exactly to not do when taking care of children. This all being said. If you/your child is a incredibly well behaved child with no SEN or other needs, I’m sure they could receive fantastic grades, but I saw pupils with this kind of attitude coming into the school very quickly have their mental health deteriorate. Please just go somewhere else.

  • Student
    2.0
    19 April 2022

    Bad school.

    Hey! I’m officially in year 11 and I am not ready for my GCSE’s, like at all. The school do not provide very many helpful revision techniques and teachers don’t often offer to help out. The school is also quite neglectful towards mental health issues, bad behaviour or anything that’ll give the school a bad reputation. Most teachers are rude and disrespectful towards multiple students and often don’t know what they’re doing. Many teachers are bad at teaching, such as the science or maths department. They struggle to keep a quiet and calm environment. In some classes, we’re still going through topics instead of revising for out GCSES. Languages are also really hard. They have boring and useless teaching methods which often leads to students having to teach themselves. The school doesn’t address anything to do with LGBTQ+. Trans/non-binary people don’t have the right facilities such as a bathroom or a gender neutral PE kit. For the girls, the skorts are way too short and people have to put their own buttons onto the shirts where as the guys have super long shorts and shirts that don’t show off their boobs. The toilets are often locked, during classes and sometimes during breaks and lunches which is inconvenient for girls on their periods or people who drink a lot of water. Also, even though we have to have windows and doors open due to covid, and we have cold weather, students aren’t allowed to wear coats indoors, even though wearing a coat is much more practical that having to carry them around. The food sometimes runs out by the time year 11 gets there or it closes early when people come in later. Students are often homophobic, use abusive language and tell others to kill themselves. Teachers hear and see this yet do nothing. There is one dude who is know as a stalker and has sexually assaulted someone yet still is in school. The school is mostly bothered about the top band, or the super smart kids which leaves the lower people to figure things out alone. This school isn’t where you wanna send you kids. It causes an extra amount of stress, anxiety, depression and is overall, a bad environment for children.

  • Student
    2.0
    19 February 2022

    Overrated School

    Been at the school for almost 5 years! Probably the most overrated school in the UK. Teaching methods are beyond poor for majority of teachers (not all). A lot of the school rules are corrupt such as no coats indoors during winter. Also, not being able to go to the toilet, which is a basic human right. Some of the teachers are beyond poor only God knows how they are qualified. In my time at painsley i’ve been targeted by female teachers simply because i’m a lad, there’s a lot of sexism. The scho...

  • Former Student
    3.0
    2 October 2021

    If you work for it you will be successful here

    This school puts on an impression that they are all high and mighty. But in reality there are not. Any bad behaviour is over looked and missed homework is taken more seriously than bullying or assault. The school has replaced brilliant teachers with young experience teachers who fail to control a classroom. Unfortunately more and more brilliant teachers are leaving. The school priority is the grades the students get and overlooks the mental health and physical health of its students. Pe staffs are under equipped to supply meaningful extra curriculum activities. The building is old and abused. Holes in the flame resistant roofing in the labs are common and holes can be found in walls throughout even the newer building. the toilets offer little privacy and students can often find teachers walking in to the toilets during lunch or break. There is very little support for those in serious need of help and many who’s behaviour is poor are overlooked and ignored as to maintain the perfect image. However if you work hard, behave and take pride in your environment you will be successful at this school. Teachers can provide excellent 1 to 1 teaching when prompted. The school uses many online platforms to allow teachers to view students work as they are completing it and provide feedback or reset tasks. Overall you can achieve more and everything you wish at Painsley but only if you work for it.

  • Former Student
    1.0
    29 September 2021

    bad. DO NOT ATTEND.

    do not recommend going this school. the rules are appalling. overall absolutely crap. regret ever attending this school. made my school years miserable.feel free to go attend if you want to be treated as though you are in a prison. very petty rules. teachers don’t know how to handle situations. and some members of staff don’t understand basic respect.

  • Student
    1.0
    13 June 2021

    Absolutely terrible school with violence

    If you want to get bullied or assaulted verbally and physically then this is the school for you and if you don’t go elsewhere, teachers just sweep problems under the carpet because they don’t want to bother with them, anti bullying policy is an absolute joke it’s all lip service and as for it being outstanding on ofsted that’s a joke too! It’s really not, DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!