Southlands High School

Southlands High School is currently rated as requiring improvement in overall effectiveness, reflecting a mixed performance across various aspects. The school has made some commendable efforts in enhancing its educational quality, particularly in curriculum design, which is becoming more structured and broad. Nevertheless, inconsistencies in curriculum delivery and challenges with pupil attendance, especially among disadvantaged and SEND students, remain areas of concern that need targeted improvement. The positive relationships among staff and pupils contribute to a supportive learning environment, but further strides are required to ensure all pupils can maximize their potential and fully engage with the curriculum.

Strengths

• The school has a broad range of well-designed subject curriculums.
• Pupils feel happy and safe, and they have positive relationships with staff.
• Teachers possess generally strong subject knowledge and high expectations.
• The provision for personal development is well designed.
• The school has taken effective action to address weaknesses in the curriculum.
• Improvement in attendance rates is beginning to show.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum delivery hinder some pupils' learning.
• Some disadvantaged pupils and SEND students do not attend regularly.
• Teachers do not consistently adapt the curriculum delivery for SEND students.
• Some staff lack the confidence to effectively support weaker readers.

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 Southlands High School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.8% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Southlands High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Southlands High School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.3% 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, 6.2% of pupils at Southlands High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% 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 Southlands High School received £7,605 and spent £7,763 for each of its 932 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £295,000 (£317 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Mosaic Learning Trust, income was £7,223 and spending £7,181 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 Chorley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Southlands High School is part of Mosaic Learning Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Standish Community High School Wigan
• Golborne Community Primary School Warrington

What is Southlands High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Southlands High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Southlands High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Southlands High School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Southlands High School have?

Southlands High School has 821 pupils on roll.

What age range does Southlands High School cover?

Southlands High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Southlands High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.4, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Southlands High School?

Southlands High School is at Clover Road, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 2NJ.