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West Hill School

Secondary · Stalybridge · SK15 1LX

Data updated

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Needs attention

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Needs attentionAchievement: Needs attentionAttendance & behaviour: Expected standardPersonal development: Expected standardInclusion: Needs attentionLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 21 April 2026 · report published 10 June 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

852 pupils · 100% of 850 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Boys
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
30.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
6.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
16.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.westhillschool.co.uk/
URN
137020

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 201 families named it first for 161 Year 7 places, 1.25 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1.319 miles; distance decided places in 3 of the 14 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2010 to 2026. At its report-card inspection on 21 April 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.25 first-choice applications per place

161 places offered · 201 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

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. Places by distance, last offered at 1.319 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1.319 miles

measured in a straight line.

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
43.5
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
60.9%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
38.5%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.5
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.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school43.5
Median of its 12 closest peers43.7
Tameside average44.2
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with 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
Sacred Heart Catholic SecondaryRedcar · 87 miles awayGood50.4
West Somerset CollegeMinehead · 169 miles awayNeeds attention41.2
Hall Park AcademyNottingham · 45 miles awayGood43
Pensby High SchoolWirral · 44 miles awayGood44.8
Bedlington AcademyBedlington · 116 miles awayGood47.4
Ellowes Hall Sports CollegeDudley · 66 miles awayGood43.1
Christ's CollegeSunderland · 101 miles awayGood43.2
The Henry Cort Community CollegeFareham · 185 miles awayNeeds attention44.2
Wingfield AcademyRotherham · 28 miles awayStrong standard47
Birkdale High SchoolSouthport · 40 miles awayExpected standard51.9
Darwen Vale High SchoolDarwen · 23 miles awayGood43.1
St Benet Biscop Catholic AcademyBedlington · 115 miles awayGood41.3

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 79% (Tameside 70%, England 59%) · Asian Pakistani 9% (Tameside 7%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 2% (Tameside 1%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Tameside 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Tameside 1%, England 3%) · Black African 2% (Tameside 4%, England 5%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Tameside 4%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Tameside 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Tameside 1%, England 1%) · Any other White background 1% (Tameside 3%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Tameside 1%, England 3%) · 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)
7.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
20.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

19.70 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Tameside: 46.34 suspensions and 0.43 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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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
17.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

83% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% moved to another state school · 6% 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)

64.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 7.1 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 £53,163; 17.6% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,674
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (6%) · supplies and services 10% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 2% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £572,000; in-year balance -£448,000

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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
92%
Continuing in education
89%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher24%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications23.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work24.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier58.3%62.3%
Social housing11.1%17.1%
Privately rented30.4%20.5%
Detached houses3.3%22.9%
Flats6.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms10.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van30.5%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01006066 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£175,000353 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£145,000–£220,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (18)£382,500
Semi-detached (105)£220,000
Terraced (173)£170,000
Flat (57)£130,000

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

Inside the Year 7 cutoff distance (2.12 km, 2026 entry): 1,494 sales, median £193,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

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
5an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
4an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
24an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
9an 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