OFSTED
18 March 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
28 June 2023
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published
26 September 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Boys
Religious character
—
Local authority
Cheshire East
Trust
SANDBACH SCHOOL
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
1,534
1,534 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
95
6.2% of pupils
Male pupils
1,439
93.8% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
12.0 pts
below England
School
12.8%
Cheshire East
16.3%
North West
28.5%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
13.5 pts
below England
School
6.8%
Cheshire East
10.0%
North West
18.1%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.4 pts
above England
School
1.4%
Cheshire East
1.5%
North West
0.8%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
80.3%
1,232
Unclassified
7.5%
115
Any other White background
4.2%
64
Any other Mixed background
1.7%
26
African
1.0%
15
White and Asian
1.0%
15
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
18.6%
285 of
1,534 pupils
2.2 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
0.1 pts
above
England
6.0%
2.3 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
48.2
9.0 pts
above England
Latest published: 0.28 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
7.39%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.18 pts
higher than
England
School
7.39%
Cheshire East
5.82%
North West
6.25%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
18.27%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
2.46 pts
higher than
England
School
18.27%
Cheshire East
13.33%
North West
15.89%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.02%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.21 pts
higher than
England
School
3.02%
Cheshire East
1.79%
North West
1.75%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
102.3%
9.9 pts
above England
Sandbach School
102.3%
Cheshire East
92.6%
North West
91.8%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.