Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School

What Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School does

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is a co-educational, state-funded Catholic secondary school located on Fawley Road in Southcote, West Reading, England, operating under the Portsmouth Diocese and serving approximately 1,050 students across Years 7 to 13 (including a dedicated Sixth Form). The school delivers a GCSE curriculum for Years 7-11 and a Sixth Form offering of 25+ A-Level and BTEC Level 3 courses spanning sciences, humanities, languages, arts, and vocational pathways (Applied Science, Health & Social Care, Travel & Tourism, Sport), supplemented by enrichment programs such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Peer Mentoring, and an Advanced Leadership Programme. Supporting operational technology includes a facial recognition-enabled cashless catering system running on ParentPay, groupcall Messenger for parent communications, Microsoft Teams integration for account balance checks, and a careers stack (Career Pilot, UCAS, Adviza, University of Reading, Study Higher, Education Business Partnership) delivering Gatsby-Benchmark-aligned careers education.

Revenue is generated primarily through UK government per-pupil funding, supplemented by a voluntary School Building Fund (£30 per family per year), Diocese contributions (£5,000 per term), ParentPay-mediated catering spend (capped at £10 per student per day), and facility lettings. The school is documented as oversubscribed with no external investors, no parent company, and no commercial ownership; it operates as a non-profit educational institution governed by a Governing Body, with recent 'Outstanding Catholic school' (Catholic Schools' Inspectorate, March 2025) and 'Good' Ofsted (2023) designations underpinning a 'Journey to Outstanding' public positioning.

Name

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School

Legal name

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School

Website

https://hughfaringdon.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is an oversubscribed, state-funded co-educational Catholic secondary school in West Reading, England, serving approximately 1,050 students across Years 7-13, including a thriving Sixth Form.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catholic Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Secondary education
• Catholic schooling
• Sixth Form education
• GCSE preparation
• A-Level programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Education: State-funded Catholic school receiving government funding for educational provision.
2. School Building Fund Contributions: Voluntary contributions of £30 per family per year to support building projects; Diocese contributes £5,000 per term.
3. Catering Services: Cashless catering system where parents credit accounts via ParentPay; daily spend limit of £10 per student.
4. Facility Lettings: School facilities available for hire (mentioned as 'Lettings' in navigation).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school in Southcote, Reading, delivering full secondary education to around 1,050 pupils across Years 7-13. It provides a broad GCSE-based curriculum in Years 7-11 and a Sixth Form offering more than 25 A-Level and BTEC courses in Years 12-13, supported by careers education, pastoral care, SEND support, and a wide enrichment programme.

Product overview

Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School is an oversubscribed, high-performing co-educational Catholic secondary school with approximately 1050 students located in West Reading. The school offers a comprehensive educational program from Years 7-13, combining a robust core curriculum with extensive enrichment offerings. The main school provides GCSE preparation (Years 7-11), while the thriving Sixth Form offers 28+ courses including traditional A-Levels and BTEC vocational qualifications. Key supporting products include a facial recognition-enabled cashless catering system (using ParentPay), groupcall Messenger for parent communication, and comprehensive careers education with external partnerships. The school also operates specialized programs including the Reading Rockets Basketball Academy, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Peer Mentoring, and Advanced Leadership Programme, supported by government bursaries and the 16-19 Tuition Fund for disadvantaged students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BHF+: Extended services and enrichment programs offered by the school
• Sixth Form

Products and services

• Secondary School Education (Years 7-11)

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest number of students accepted to Russell Group universities in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Reading Rockets Basketball ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Reading Rockets Basketball Club to develop and run a community development academy. Students receive 4 hours coaching per week from Reading Rockets professional basketball coaches and compete in the Berkshire U19 league.
• Portsmouth DiocesecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiocese supports the school building fund, having contributed £220,000 towards building projects. School pays £5,000 per term to the Diocese.
• Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnterprise Coordinator (Mrs Lara Jones) works with the school to build career plans and make connections to local and national employers.
• AdvizaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer guidance partnership providing careers education, information, advice and guidance support.
• Education Business PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides enrichment activities and work experience opportunities for students.
• University of ReadingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership providing enrichment activities and progression pathways for students.
• Study HigherminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education outreach partnership supporting student progression to university.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Reading School: Highly selective boys' grammar school in Reading, directly competing for the same high-attaining families in the local catchment. Comparable in size and academic profile, with overlapping feeder-school catchment and similar sixth-form progression to top universities.
• Kendrick School: Highly selective girls' grammar school in Reading, competing with BHF for academically ambitious local families. Similar scale, similar post-16 destination outcomes (top universities), and same Reading catchment.
• Prospect School: Co-educational state secondary in Tilehurst, West Reading. Direct local competitor within BHF's core Southcote/Tilehurst catchment, with overlapping feeder primaries and similar post-16 offer.
• Little Heath School: Co-educational state secondary in Tilehurst, West Reading — direct feeder-school competitor in BHF's immediate Southcote/Tilehurst catchment. Comparable scale, state-funding model, and post-16 provision.
• The Downs School: Co-educational state secondary school in Compton, near Reading. Similar comprehensive model, comparable student body, and direct competition for families in the southern Reading and Berkshire catchment.
• Denefield School: Co-educational state secondary in Tilehurst, West Reading, serving a similar demographic catchment to BHF. Comparable size, ethos, and Sixth Form structure, with overlapping feeder schools.
• Maiden Erlegh School: Large co-educational state secondary in Earley, Reading — the principal non-faith, non-grammar competitor in the Reading area. Comparable size (~1,500+ students), comparable post-16 provision, and overlapping catchment with BHF.

Direct peers

• Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School: Roman Catholic state-funded boys' secondary school in West London with a thriving Sixth Form. Closest UK analogue to BHF: Catholic ethos, state funding, large Sixth Form, comparable academic profile, similar admissions-driven operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Abbey School Reading: Independent girls' school in Reading competing for the same aspirational West Berkshire families. Comparable in selectivity and academic outcomes, but operates as fee-charging independent rather than state-funded — useful benchmark for parental willingness to pay.
• St Edward's School: Leading Catholic independent school in Oxford offering a similar Benedictine heritage and broad enrichment model. Comparable on Catholic identity, breadth of curriculum, and university-preparation positioning, though private-fee rather than state-funded.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/114765558540236
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blessed-hugh-faringdon-catholic-school

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School