Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School

Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is a larger-than-average secondary school with a sixth form, inspected in June 2026. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is judged strong for attendance and behaviour and for personal development and wellbeing, while achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and post-16 provision are all at the expected standard. Pupils are proud of their school, behave well, attend regularly, and benefit from a broad personal development programme and strong pastoral support. The school's main strengths include attendance that is significantly above the national average, a calm and caring culture, and a thoughtfully designed PSHE curriculum that prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported, staff morale is high, and governance is effective. Sixth-form students are well supported and most achieve well, with some subjects attaining above national averages. The main areas for improvement are that strategies for raising attainment are not yet effective across all subjects and adaptive teaching is not consistently implemented in every classroom. Assessment use to identify gaps and adapt learning also varies across subjects. Although most pupils achieve well over time, recent 2024/25 GCSE outcomes in English and maths and Attainment 8 were below national averages, and A-level value added was also below national average.

Strengths

• Attendance is significantly above the national average and persistent absence is reducing quickly.
• Pupils behave respectfully and the school has a calm, caring environment.
• The PSHE curriculum is thoughtfully designed and responsive to emerging issues.
• Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access a wide range of personal development opportunities.
• Inclusion support identifies barriers quickly and families have confidence in the school.
• Careers and sixth-form guidance help pupils choose ambitious next steps.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with strong statutory understanding.
• Staff morale is high and leaders consider staff workload.
• Leaders collaborate with other schools and organisations to support improvement.
• Post-16 provision is broad, well organised and taught consistently.
• Sixth-form students are well supported and feel proud of their sixth form.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Pupils build positive relationships and feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Strategies for raising attainment are not yet effective across all subjects.
• Adaptive teaching strategies are not consistently implemented in all classrooms.
• Assessment use to identify gaps and adapt learning is inconsistent across subjects.
• Consistency of SEND adaptations and strategies across the curriculum still needs further securing.
• 2024/25 GCSE results in English and maths and Attainment 8 were below national averages.
• A-level value added was below the national average in 2024/25.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.3% of pupils at Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School had 14.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.7% of pupils at Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School received £8,873 and spent £9,060 for each of its 1,188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £555,000 (£467 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Manchester · Rochdale local authority: places and applications

What is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School have?

Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School has 1,186 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School cover?

Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.0, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School?

Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is at Rochdale Road, Middleton, Manchester, Lancashire, M24 2GL.