Brine Leas School

Brine Leas School is a large secondary school and sixth form in Nantwich, part of The Cornovii Trust. Inspected in June 2026, it was judged to be performing at a strong standard overall, with safeguarding standards met. The school's inclusion work is a notable strength: leaders understand barriers to learning and provide highly effective support, so pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils fully access the curriculum and wider school life. All other inspected areas—achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance, personal development, and post-16 provision—were graded expected standard. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national averages, attend well, and behave positively in a calm environment. They benefit from a well-designed curriculum, a wide range of enrichment activities, and effective careers guidance. The sixth form is effective, with students attaining well and progressing to ambitious destinations. Leaders are well supported by governors and trustees, and staff value the school's attention to workload and professional development. However, inspectors identified inconsistencies in how well teachers adapt support for pupils with barriers and use assessment to address misconceptions, and pupils' understanding of protected characteristics and fundamental British values is not secure enough, leading to some disrespectful language. These are the main areas for improvement.

Strengths

• Highly effective inclusion support for pupils with SEND and other barriers
• Rapid and effective induction for pupils joining mid-year
• Strong support for disadvantaged pupils, including effective use of pupil premium
• Pupils make progress and attain in line with national averages
• High attendance rates, including for pupils with SEND
• Calm and purposeful learning environment with clear behaviour expectations
• Appropriate and ambitious curriculum across all subjects
• Effective leadership and governance with appropriate challenge and support
• Positive staff wellbeing and valued professional development
• Wide range of enrichment, trips, and leadership opportunities
• Effective careers programme and strong post-16 provision
• Pupils feel safe and are confident to report unkind behaviour
• Safeguarding standards met

Areas for Improvement

• Support adaptations for pupils with barriers are not applied consistently in lessons
• Assessment strategies are not used consistently to identify and address misconceptions
• Pupils' understanding of protected characteristics and fundamental British values is not deep enough
• Some pupils use disrespectful language without understanding its impact
• Occasional misconceptions go unnoticed in lessons
• Support for pupils with SEND is not always consistent
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment gap in English and maths remains significant

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 Brine Leas School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.2% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Brine Leas School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Brine Leas School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Brine Leas School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% 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 2024–25 Brine Leas School received £7,590 and spent £7,468 for each of its 1,411 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £218,000 (£155 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Cornovii Trust, income was £7,309 and spending £7,287 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Nantwich · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

Brine Leas School is part of The Cornovii Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Pear Tree Primary School Nantwich
• Stapeley Broad Lane CofE Primary School Nantwich
• Malbank School and Sixth Form College Nantwich
• Audlem St James' CofE Primary School Crewe
• Weston Village Primary School Crewe
• Alsager School Stoke-On-Trent
• Alsager Highfields Community Primary School Stoke-On-Trent

What is Brine Leas School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brine Leas School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Brine Leas School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brine Leas School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Brine Leas School have?

Brine Leas School has 1,417 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brine Leas School cover?

Brine Leas School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Brine Leas School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.2, and 54% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Brine Leas School?

Brine Leas School is at Audlem Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 7DY.