St Michael's Church of England High School

Academy converter·Secondary school Chorley, Lancashire·PR7 1RS
Composite score
73.6
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#278
National rank
#26
In North West
#7
In Lancashire
Top 9%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
58.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
72%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
91%
% EBacc grade 5+
33%
EBacc average points score
5.26

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

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

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
70%
311 first choices, 219 places
First choices per place
1.42
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
770
any preference, for 219 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.28
00.511.52
1 per place
1.3920221.2720231.3520241.1420251.422026

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 St Michael'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
1,133
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
3.4%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
0.8%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
7.9%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
1.9%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
4.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
9.2%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£6,950
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
97%
224 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
90%
Apprenticeship
5%
Employment
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

St Michael's Church of England High School at a glance

Located in Chorley, Lancashire, St Michael's Church of England High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Church of England religious character. The school educates roughly 1,133 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 58.9 — well above the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 0.8 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 9% of secondary schools in England.

72% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 91% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. St Michael's Church of England High School is oversubscribed: about 7 in 10 of the families who made it their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, with 311 first choices for 219 places. After Year 11, 97% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 4.7%. There are about 16.8 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 3% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. 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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