It serves pupils mainly from the areas of Prestwich, Whitefield, Kersal, Cheetham Hill and Radcliffe, and all those in the parish communities of its associated primary schools.

[10] In 1999, along with two other Bury Catholic high schools, St Monica's chose to ban an informational book for young people about sex and contraception.

[13] Due to the risk of revenge attacks, headteacher Frank McCarron was forced to hold assemblies urging students to refrain from retaliation.

Headteacher, at the time, Frank McCarron stated: “We are aware of an incident which took place on Wednesday and it is currently being investigated.” The teacher was released from hospital after having his stomach pumped and no formal charges were brought against the pupil.

[21] Harrison stood before Bolton Crown Court on 25 October 2013 and plead guilty to four counts of sexual activity however denied the fifth.

[22] In November 2015, a Freedom of Information Act request to the Taxpayers' Alliance revealed that a member of staff was receiving somewhere between £100,000 and £149,999 in remuneration.

Allegations were launched against the school regarding unfairly high pay of individual members of staff, leading to accusations of inappropriately dispensing public money not in line with financial regulations.

The post claimed that while boys were not allowed to gather, the same rules did not apply to girls and criticised the headteacher's policy on the matter.

In the aftermath of the decision, parents said that the children should not have been accepted for admission in the academic year, when the school was aware that the numbers were too low to receive the Department for Education funding needed to keep the centre running.

[25] In February 2018, an inspection stated the school was inadequate in 'overall effectiveness', 'effectiveness of leadership and management', 'quality of teaching' and 'outcomes for pupils', and required improvement in 'personal development, behaviour and welfare'.

[27] A followup visit by Ofsted in October 2018 found the school's leaders and managers were "not taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

[7] The sixth form centre shut down in 2017 due to poor admission numbers, however the space continues to be used by Elms Bank College.