Weaverham High School

Weaverham High School is performing at a strong standard, excelling in various areas of pupil welfare and personal development. The school has established an inclusive environment where staff are dedicated to understanding and supporting the diverse needs of pupils. Notable strengths include high-quality pastoral care and effective personal development programs that prepare students for their futures. Despite some variability in the achievement of pupils with lower prior attainment, overall academic results are above national averages, indicating that pupils are generally well-prepared for further endeavors after school.

Strengths

• Exceptional commitment to inclusion that supports the needs of all pupils.
• Strong systems in place for safeguarding and pupil wellbeing.
• High-quality personal development programs that equip pupils for future challenges.
• Effective partnerships with external agencies to support vulnerable pupils.
• Robust assessment strategies to identify and support pupils with reading and mathematics gaps.
• Pupils have access to a wide range of extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment during lessons affects adaptations to teaching when needed.
• Attendance for disadvantaged pupils fell last year and was lower than the national average.

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 Weaverham High School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.6% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Weaverham High 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 Weaverham High School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.9% 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, 6.6% of pupils at Weaverham High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.5% 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 Weaverham High School received £7,629 and spent £7,402 for each of its 1,163 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,234,000 (£1,061 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Sandstone Trust, income was £7,130 and spending £6,984 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 Northwich · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

Weaverham High School is part of Sandstone Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Eaton Primary School Tarporley
• Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College Tarporley
• Tarvin Primary School Chester
• Kings Moat Community Primary School Chester

What is Weaverham High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Weaverham High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Weaverham High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Weaverham High School was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Weaverham High School have?

Weaverham High School has 1,154 pupils on roll.

What age range does Weaverham High School cover?

Weaverham High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Weaverham High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 53.5, and 59% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Weaverham High School?

Weaverham High School is at Lime Avenue, Weaverham, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 3HT.