Sandbach School

Sandbach School is a stand-alone academy for boys aged 11 to 19 with a mixed sixth form. The inspection found good provision in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, while sixth-form provision was judged outstanding. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Under current inspection arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was given. Pupils are polite, respectful and kind, and they behave well in a calm and orderly school. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, teachers generally explain ideas clearly, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, careers activities and leadership roles, and sixth-form students are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps and act as excellent role models. The main areas for improvement are assessment and reading. In a small number of subjects, teachers do not routinely check for misconceptions or gaps, so some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. The school’s processes for identifying gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge are also not refined enough, meaning a small number of pupils at the earliest stages of reading do not always receive well-matched support.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum builds pupils' knowledge over time
• Teachers use strong subject knowledge to explain ideas clearly
• Staff identify SEND accurately and adapt learning effectively
• Pupils behave well and learn without distraction in a calm, orderly environment
• Well-designed personal development and careers programme prepares pupils for their futures
• Sixth-form students achieve exceptionally well and are exceptionally well prepared
• Wide range of clubs and leadership roles develops pupils' talents and community contribution
• Effective governance and high-quality staff training and wellbeing support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, assessment does not systematically check what pupils know, so gaps can be missed
• Some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready because misconceptions and gaps are not routinely addressed
• Reading assessment processes are not robust enough to identify and support pupils with gaps in reading knowledge

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 Sandbach School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.3% 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, 5.3% of pupils at Sandbach School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Sandbach School had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 14.9% of pupils at Sandbach School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Sandbach School received £8,248 and spent £8,407 for each of its 1,506 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £16,000 (£11 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 Sandbach · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

What is Sandbach School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sandbach School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Sandbach School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sandbach School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Sandbach School have?

Sandbach School has 1,534 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sandbach School cover?

Sandbach School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Sandbach School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.9, and 42% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sandbach School?

Sandbach School is at Crewe Road, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 3NS.