The County High School, Leftwich

The County High School, Leftwich, part of the Sir John Brunner Foundation, is a school where leaders, governors and trustees demonstrate a deep understanding of its strengths and priorities, and where rapid progress is being made towards high ambitions. Inclusion is a standout feature: leaders are relentless in ensuring that pupils with SEND and other barriers receive timely, well-coordinated support from Year 7 onwards, and disadvantaged pupils benefit from additional tuition and enrichment. The school's personal development and wellbeing programme is well structured and highly effective, and staff know pupils very well, providing tailored pastoral care and breaking down barriers so that all pupils can thrive. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, respected and proud of their school. Overall, pupils achieve above-average examination results, including disadvantaged pupils at key stage 4, and they progress on to ambitious destinations.

Strengths

• Relentless focus on inclusion ensures pupils with SEND and other barriers receive timely, effective support from Year 7 onwards
• Leaders, including governors and trustees, have a highly accurate understanding of the school and make astute plans for rapid improvement
• A well-structured personal development and wellbeing programme prepares pupils to contribute positively to modern Britain
• A broad range of clubs, trips and activities, including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, builds resilience, teamwork and service
• Staff know pupils very well and provide highly effective pastoral support that is personally meaningful
• Disadvantaged pupils are well supported through additional tuition and enrichment opportunities
• The school's clear rules and routines create a calm, respectful environment where bullying and disruption are rare
• Staff feel valued and cared for, with reasonable workload and a highly effective professional development programme
• Pupils generally achieve above-average examination results, including at key stage 4
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND build secure knowledge and make solid progress from their starting points
• Effective support for reading, writing and number knowledge helps pupils access their lessons successfully
• Improvements in attendance for pupils with SEND are notable, reflecting inclusive approaches and bespoke strategies

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND sometimes do not attend as often as they should
• A small number of pupils sometimes do not get the specific support needed to benefit fully from their lessons
• Leaders should continue to identify and tackle barriers to attendance so that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have consistently high attendance
• Leaders should continue to embed highly effective teaching across all subjects so that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, continue to achieve more highly

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 The County High School, Leftwich attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.4% 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, 6.9% of pupils at The County High School, Leftwich were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 The County High School, Leftwich had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.5% 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, 13.5% of pupils at The County High School, Leftwich were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 The County High School, Leftwich received £7,350 and spent £7,517 for each of its 1,050 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £65,000 (£61 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of The Sir John Brunner Foundation, income was £7,363 and spending £7,443 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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All schools in Northwich · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

The County High School, Leftwich is part of The Sir John Brunner Foundation, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Sir John Deane's Sixth Form College Northwich
• Middlewich High School Middlewich
• The Macclesfield Academy Macclesfield

What is The County High School, Leftwich's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The County High School, Leftwich is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was The County High School, Leftwich last inspected by Ofsted?

The County High School, Leftwich was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does The County High School, Leftwich have?

The County High School, Leftwich has 1,046 pupils on roll.

What age range does The County High School, Leftwich cover?

The County High School, Leftwich for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The County High School, Leftwich's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.1, and 52% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The County High School, Leftwich?

The County High School, Leftwich is at Granville Road, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 8EZ.