West Hill School

West Hill School is a secondary school that has undergone significant leadership and governance changes since its last inspection, including a new headteacher, senior leaders, and trustees. Inspectors found that the school is performing at the expected standard in attendance and behaviour, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils are happy, safe, and well-supported, with high attendance, positive behaviour, and a strong sense of community. Safeguarding standards are met. However, the school is not yet meeting expected standards in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and inclusion, which are all graded as needing attention. While many pupils achieve well overall, achievement is inconsistent across subjects and for some groups, with progress in national examinations below average. Teaching quality varies, and assessment is not used reliably enough to identify and address misconceptions, including gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not consistently receive effective support, as information shared with staff lacks precision and training is still in its early stages. Leaders have put measures in place to improve these areas, but it is too soon to see the full impact. The school is part of a single academy trust and serves a community with above-average deprivation. Leaders have stabilised staffing and raised expectations, and staff morale is high. The next steps focus on ensuring teachers have the information and expertise to adapt teaching effectively and use assessment to check for gaps and misconceptions. Overall, the school is on an improvement trajectory but has work to do to secure consistently good outcomes for all pupils.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy, safe, and valued in a welcoming and inclusive school community.
• Attendance is consistently above the national average, and persistent absence has reduced year on year.
• Pupils behave well, embodying the school's 'respect' values, and bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly.
• Leaders have a clear vision and have acted decisively to raise expectations and stabilise staffing.
• Trustees are ambitious, skilled, and provide appropriate support and challenge to leaders.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well-developed, with a broad range of extracurricular opportunities.
• Pupils develop a strong understanding of fundamental British values and active citizenship.
• Careers education is effective, with tailored support leading to positive destinations for pupils.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment is in line with national averages, and support for their needs is generally effective.
• Staff morale is high, and staff benefit from research-led professional learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is inconsistent across the curriculum, with some subjects and groups of pupils markedly below the national average.
• Teaching quality varies, and assessment is not used reliably enough to identify misconceptions or address gaps in knowledge.
• Teachers do not consistently adapt lessons to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Information shared with staff about pupils' learning needs lacks precision, leading to inconsistent support.
• Progress in national examinations (Progress 8) is below the national average.
• Training to help staff support pupils with additional needs is still in an early stage of development.
• Errors in pupils' handwriting, punctuation, and spelling sometimes go unnoticed and uncorrected.

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 West Hill School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.5% 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, 7.0% of pupils at West Hill 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 West Hill School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.6% 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, 17.3% of pupils at West Hill School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 West Hill School received £7,150 and spent £7,674 for each of its 854 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £572,000 (£670 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.

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stalybridge · Tameside local authority: places and applications

What is West Hill School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for West Hill School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was West Hill School last inspected by Ofsted?

West Hill School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does West Hill School have?

West Hill School has 852 pupils on roll.

What age range does West Hill School cover?

West Hill School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are West Hill School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.2, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is West Hill School?

West Hill School is at Thompson Cross, Stamford Street, Stalybridge, Cheshire, SK15 1LX.