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D

St Colm's High School

Post-primaryAges 11–18Catholic maintainedLearning support centreNon-grammar

70 Summerhill Drive, Dunmurry, BT17 0BT · Belfast

Metropolitan Lisburn’s School Grade B+ against Northern Ireland’s towns

Directions
Its letter
12%
of Northern Ireland’s 120 non-grammar schools have lower GCSE results
How full
626 of 680 places
54 places free for 2025/26
Free school meals
70%
of pupils · outlined square = Northern Ireland’s post-primary schools (23%)
Special needs
45%
on the SEN register, 101 with a statement (Northern Ireland: 17%)
The gist

What stands out about St Colm's High School

  • Its own letter, D: 42% of Year 12 got 5+ GCSEs A*–C with English and maths, against 60% at the average non-grammar school
  • 95% Catholic; the other 5% isn’t published: the Department of Education hides groups under 5 pupils
  • A sixth form of 75: 28% of its A-level pupils got 3+ A*–C
  • 54 of 680 places free this year

Results

DE · exams 2024/25 · 93 Year 12 pupils

Each bar is a group of schools. The schools St Colm's High School beats are shaded green.

5+ GCSEs A*–C with English and maths 42%

Against Northern Ireland’s 120 non-grammar schools: higher than 12%. Against all 186: higher than 8%.

0%20%40%60%80%100%NI non-grammar avg 59.8%St Colm's High School 42%

3+ A-levels A*–C 28%

25 final-year A-level pupils · higher than 3% of Northern Ireland’s 155 schools with A-level pupils

0%20%40%60%80%100%NI avg 66.7%St Colm's High School 28%

Department of Education, examination performance at post-primary schools 2024/25. Also: 93% got 5+ GCSEs A*–C in any subjects.

Pupils

DE school census · October 2025 · 727 pupils

Each year group

Years 8 to 12 to GCSE, then the sixth form (dark bars).

121
139
139
132
121
47
28
Y8Y9Y10Y11Y12Y13Y14

Who goes here

Pupils by religion.

ProtestantCatholicOther Christian, other religion, none or not statedNot published (fewer than 5 pupils)
St Colm's High Schoolone community
Northern Ireland’s post-primary schoolsmixed

47 pupils are in Year 13 for 121 in Year 12, about 39 for every 100. 325 pupils are on the special needs register: 224 supported by the school at stages 1 and 2, and 101 with a statement. The school has a learning support centre, a specialist class of 15 pupils. 3% are newcomer pupils, who don’t yet have the language of the curriculum.

Department of Education, school enrolment, school level data 2025/26: year groups, religion, SEN, newcomers.

Pupils over time

Pupil numbers over time

Published school census enrolments, by academic year.

02004006008002016/172019/202022/232025/26Pupils

Department of Education school censuses, 2016/17–2025/26. This school’s reference number throughout; primary totals include attached nursery classes. Later workbooks separate specialist provision in mainstream; combined totals are used where published. Missing counts stay missing.

Its letter

How the letter is worked out

Northern Ireland selects at 11. Grammar schools average 94% of pupils with five good GCSEs including English and maths, non-grammar schools 60%. Ranked against all 186 schools together, a non-grammar school would be held to grammar-school intakes, and a grammar school would look outstanding for its intake alone. So St Colm's High School’s D is its place among Northern Ireland’s 120 non-grammar schools: better than 12% of them. Among all schools it is better than 8%.

The bands are the site’s own: A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, and so on down to D− for the bottom 5%. It rests on one year’s results; Northern Ireland publishes no progress measure.

Nearby

Schools near St Colm's High School

Every mainstream school within 3 km. Post-primary schools are squares, with their letter; integrated schools are teal.

1 km2 km3 kmNB+B+CDSt Colm's High School

The five nearest

Nearby schools

Schools of the same phase near St Colm's High School

Nearest first, within the same nation, as the crow flies. Up to 8 km, or 25 km where there are fewer than three nearby. Catchments and admissions rules decide which school a child gets.

Rathmore Grammar School
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Voluntary grammar
B+
1,258 pupils99% GCSEs34 places free1.8 km away
Hunterhouse College
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Voluntary grammar
B+
743 pupils99% GCSEs0 places free2 km away
St Genevieve's High School
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Catholic maintained
C
1,019 pupils51% GCSEs21 places free2.5 km away
Malone Integrated College
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Grant-maintained integrated
B
Integrated
818 pupils64% GCSEs65 places free3 km away
De La Salle College
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Catholic maintained
C−
Learning support centre
783 pupils50% GCSEs407 places free3.1 km away
All Saints College
Post-primary · Ages 11–18 · Catholic maintained
D
Learning support centre
795 pupils40% GCSEs288 places free3.3 km away

St Colm's High School: common questions

Is St Colm's High School a good school?

By its published GCSE results it earns a D among Northern Ireland’s non-grammar schools: 42% of its Year 12 pupils got 5 or more GCSEs at A* to C including English and maths in 2024/25, against 60% at the average non-grammar school.

How many pupils go to St Colm's High School?

727 in October 2025.

Are there places at St Colm's High School?

For 2025/26 the Department of Education counts 54 places free of its approved enrolment of 680. Apply through the Education Authority, in Primary 7.

Not on this page yet: the Education and Training Inspectorate’s latest report and the school’s budget per pupil.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.