Pendle Vale College

Type Secondary / Community school
Age Range 11-16
Religion Does not apply
Address Oxford Road
Nelson
Lancashire
BB9 8LF
Phone 01282682240
Reference Number 134989

Pendle Vale College demonstrates a strong overall performance, with many pupils leaving the school well-prepared for their next steps in education or employment. The school has successfully fostered a culture of inclusion and high aspirations, evidenced by the consistently high rates of achievement and positive trends in attendance and behaviour. Leaders have effectively implemented ambitious curriculum choices and support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, resulting in notable progress for disadvantaged pupils compared to their peers nationally.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 1042
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.93%
Girls: 46.07%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 32.8%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 35.2%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 21.7

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 110 91 201
8 115 94 209
9 119 89 208
10 123 93 216
11 95 113 208

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
Pakistani 82.7%
White, British 7.4%
Unclassified 2.5%
White & Asian 2.1%
White, Other 1.1%
Asian, Other 0.5%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.2%
African 0.2%
Mixed, Other 0.2%
Chinese 0.1%
White & Black (African) 0.1%

Overall Ofsted Rating Expected standard
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Expected standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
Last Report Date 10 Feb 2026
Date Report
10 Feb 2026 School inspection
09 Nov 2021 School inspection
07 Dec 2016 Short inspection
14 Jun 2016 Monitoring visit
03 Oct 2012 Full inspection
27 Sep 2010 Full inspection
23 Oct 2008 Curriculum and development visit
27 Nov 2007 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils achieve qualifications that enable them to pursue ambitious educational pathways.
  • Above-average progress for disadvantaged pupils from low starting points.
  • Strong focus on attendance, with decreasing persistent absence and improved overall attendance.
  • Culture of high expectations and positive behaviour among pupils.
  • Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistent application of strategies by some teachers to account for pupils' prior knowledge.
  • Variability in the learning experiences for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
42.5

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 32.2%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 51.7%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 209 8
Third Preference 120 8
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous Years

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Destinations after GCSE's

Staying in Education
 >  Further Education
 >  School Sixth Form
 >  Sixth Form College
 >  Other Education
Apprenticeships
Employment
Not in education or employment
Unknown

Name Distance
Castercliff Primary School
Marsden Hall Road North, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8JJ
0.28 miles
Pendle View Primary School
Gibfield Road, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JT
0.31 miles
Bradley Primary School
Dover Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7RF
0.52 miles
Colne Primet Primary School
Tatton Street, Tatton St. Colne Bb8 8je, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JE
0.59 miles
Walton Lane Nursery School
Walton Lane, Nelson, BB9 8BP
0.66 miles
Bradley Nursery School
Bradley Road East, Nelson, BB9 7QH
0.66 miles
Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson
Holland Place, Off Reedyford Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8HD
0.67 miles
Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy
Trent Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0NX
0.67 miles
Walverden Primary School
Bracewell Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0TL
0.68 miles
Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School
Leeds Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 9TQ
0.69 miles
McMillan Nursery School
Railway Street, Nelson, BB9 9AG
0.94 miles
Barrowford School
Rushton Street, Barrowford, Barrowford Primary School, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 6EA
1 miles
Al-Ikhlaas Primary School
35 Norfolk Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7SY
1.01 miles
Whitefield Infant School and Nursery
Every Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7HF
1.06 miles
Marsden Community Primary School
Percy Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0BE
1.09 miles
Lomeshaye Junior School
Norfolk Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7SY
1.11 miles
Colne Lord Street School
Lord Street, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 9AR
1.19 miles
St John Southworth RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
Lomeshaye Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0DQ
1.19 miles
Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School
Hibson Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PY
1.29 miles
Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School
Wheatley Lane Road, Barrowford, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 6QT
1.33 miles
Name Distance
Pendle Community High School & College
Oxford Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 8LF
0.08 miles
Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School
Gibfield Road, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JT
0.37 miles
Colne Primet Academy
Dent Street, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 8JF
0.51 miles
Edenfield Girls' High School
Brunswick Street, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PQ
0.88 miles
East Lancashire Learning Group
Scotland Road, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 7YT
1.01 miles
The Nook School
Knotts Lane, Colne, BB8 8HH
1.08 miles
Grow Independent School
Lower Clough Business Centre, Pendle Street, Barrowford, Lancashire, BB9 8PH
1.09 miles
Marsden Heights Community College
Edge End Lane, Nelson, Lancashire, BB9 0PR
1.56 miles
Colne Park High School
Venables Avenue, Colne, Lancashire, BB8 7DP
2.19 miles
Silver Birch School
Briercliffe Road, Harle Syke, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2HA
2.28 miles
Compass Community School Lancashire
Bend Hill Farm, Granville Street, Briercliffe, Burnley, BB10 2RA
2.52 miles
Rosa House School
Bronte Farm, Halifax Road, Briercliffe, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3RB
2.65 miles
Sir John Thursby Community College
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
2.9 miles
Ridgewood Community High School
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 2AT
2.93 miles
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy
Ormerod Road, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 3AA
3.67 miles
Olive High Boys
Ormerod Road (Entrance Via Shorey Bank), Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 2RU
3.85 miles
Olive High
Shorey Bank, Burnley, BB11 2RY
3.89 miles
Burnley College
Princess Way, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0AN
3.93 miles
Lincoln House School
25-27 Clifton Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 0QZ
4.2 miles
Unity College
Townley Holmes, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 3DF
4.33 miles
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