Balshaw's Church of England High School

Voluntary controlled school·Secondary school Leyland, Lancashire·PR25 3AH
Composite score
65.4
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#671
National rank
#67
In North West
#15
In Lancashire
Top 21%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
52.3
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
57%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
79%
% EBacc grade 5+
34%
EBacc average points score
4.83

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
81%
201 first choices, 179 places
First choices per place
1.12
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
630
any preference, for 179 places
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.05
00.511.5
1 per place
1.2520221.2020231.1520241.1820251.122026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Lancashire does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Balshaw's Church of England High School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
933
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
13.6%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
3.3%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
6.8%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.2%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
6.2%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
16.2%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
20.0
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,041
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
92%
177 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
84%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Balshaw's Church of England High School at a glance

Located in Leyland, Lancashire, Balshaw's Church of England High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a voluntary controlled school with a Church of England religious character. The school educates roughly 933 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 52.3 — above the national average (national average: 46). Performance is little changed year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 21% of secondary schools nationally.

57% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 79% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Balshaw's Church of England High School is oversubscribed: about 8 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 201 first choices for 179 places. After Year 11, 92% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.2%. There are about 20.0 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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