SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Accrington, Lancashire

Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School

Queen's Road West, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 4AY

Sixth form Church of England Full
School website 01254232992

Ofsted

Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 12 May 2026.

Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.

Read the Ofsted report

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

50.7 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

60% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

74% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

4.3 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

23% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the upper half of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the lower half.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.26confidence interval -0.45 to -0.06

Taking that range into account, pupils made less progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as below average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C
Average points per entry
30.9

England average 32.3

A level students
149

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1280
Places
1280
How full
Full — 1280 pupils against 1280 places
Girls / boys
684 / 596
Overall absence
6%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
12%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
15%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
6%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
3%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
9%

England 15%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
99%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
85%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
12%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
40%
No sustained destination
1%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
202

After sixth form

Went to university
52%

England 50%

In education, work or training
87%

England 84.3%

Started an apprenticeship
4%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
135

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

27% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
63%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
143

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The neighbourhood around the school

Census 2021 figures for Hyndburn 002C, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.

Adults with a degree
24%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
21%

England 18.3%

Households owning their home
67%

England 62.7%

Households in social housing
4%

England 17%

Households with no car
21%

England 21.9%

Adults economically inactive
38%

England 39.9%

School details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
Church of England
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Trust
ACCRINGTON ST CHRISTOPHER'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL
Headteacher
Headteacher: Richard Jones
Local authority
Lancashire
Ward
Altham
Constituency
Hyndburn
URN
137421

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Distance
Accrington AcademyAcademy sponsor led No grade 39.4 0.2 mi
The Alternative SchoolOther independent school No grade 0.8 mi
Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, HyndburnVoluntary aided school No grade 42.7 1.1 mi
RhyddingsAcademy converter No grade 36.5 1.2 mi
The HollinsAcademy converter No grade 40.7 1.9 mi
The Hyndburn AcademyAcademy sponsor led Good 2022 37.4 1.9 mi
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor led Requires improvement 2023 37.2 3.4 mi
Rawdhatul Ilm Wal HudaOther independent school No grade 3.5 mi

Schools with a similar intake

State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Whitley Bay High SchoolFoundation school Outstanding 2024 54.2
Dover Grammar School for GirlsCommunity school No grade 59.9
Healing AcademyAcademy converter Good 2024 51
Upton Court Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2022 79.9
Christleton High SchoolAcademy converter Good 2024 54.8
Beechen Cliff SchoolAcademy converter Good 2023 55
Bohunt HorshamFree schools Good 2023 49.5
Ashby SchoolAcademy converter Good 2024 48.1

Where these figures come from

  • School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
  • Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
  • Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
  • Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
  • Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.

All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.