SchoolFacts.uk

Christopher Whitehead Language College

Secondary · Worcester · WR2 4AF

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 25 May 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,580 pupils · 104% of 1,525 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
25.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
10.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
7.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
4.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.christopherwhitehead.co.uk
URN
136890

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 236 families named it first for 274 Year 7 places, 0.86 first choices per place. We hold 7 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2020 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 25 May 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.86 first-choice applications per place

274 places offered · 236 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

256 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
43.8
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
62.9%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
41.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
33.9
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school43.8
Median of its 12 closest peers47
Worcestershire average44.5
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Hellesdon High SchoolNorwich · 151 miles awayRequires improvement40.3
Hampton Gardens Secondary SchoolPeterborough · 87 miles awayExpected standard47
St Clere's SchoolStanford-le-Hope · 122 miles awayGood43.2
Moulton School and Science CollegeNorthampton · 59 miles awayGood46.1
Bourne AcademyBourne · 88 miles awayGood47.2
North Leamington SchoolLeamington Spa · 31 miles awayNo current grade57.4
Salendine Nook High SchoolHuddersfield · 103 miles awayGood (2016)50.9
Great Baddow High SchoolChelmsford · 120 miles awayExpected standard50
Copleston High SchoolIpswich · 146 miles awayGood46.9
The Crompton House Church of England AcademyOldham · 97 miles awayGood46.8
Vandyke Upper SchoolLeighton Buzzard · 70 miles awayGood48.2
Homewood School and Sixth Form CentreTenterden · 147 miles awayGood39.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
11 of 12 places taken nearly full

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 78% (Worcestershire 79%, England 59%) · Any other White background 7% (Worcestershire 6%, England 7%) · Black African 3% (Worcestershire 2%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Worcestershire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Worcestershire 2%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Worcestershire 1%, England 3%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Worcestershire 2%, England 3%) · Not recorded 1% (Worcestershire 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Worcestershire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Worcestershire 1%, England 4%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Worcestershire 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Worcestershire 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
24.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

3.88 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Worcestershire: 13.26 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
14.7
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

94% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

59.1% of teachers took sickness absence, 6.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,205; 6.8% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,603
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 80% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 5% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 3% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £506,000; in-year balance +£115,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
90%
Continuing in education
85%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
4%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
37%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
43%
Any sustained destination
86%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher32.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications17%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways14.4%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier73.1%62.3%
Social housing10.8%17.1%
Privately rented16.1%20.5%
Detached houses23.2%22.9%
Flats10.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms19.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van16.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01032288 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£241,000439 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£200,000–£305,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (51)£450,000
Semi-detached (95)£280,000
Terraced (173)£240,000
Flat (120)£175,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
24an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools