SCHOOL PROFILE

North Cestrian School

Secondary Free schools URN 143104
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 755 Published school capacity
Capacity used 105.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

20 November 2024
Latest published outcome Standards maintained
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Free schools
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
Local authority Trafford
Trust THE HAMBLIN EDUCATION TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 799 799 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 401 50.2% of pupils
Male pupils 398 49.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

16.5%
8.3 pts below England
School 16.5%
Trafford 16.9%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

26.4%
6.1 pts above England
School 26.4%
Trafford 23.2%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.0%
0.0 pts in line with England
School 1.0%
Trafford 0.8%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
53.6%
428
Chinese
7.6%
61
Indian
7.3%
58
Pakistani
7.1%
57
Any other ethnic group
5.4%
43
Any other White background
4.8%
38
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.0% 136 of 799 pupils
3.8 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.0%
Trafford 17.7%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.5% 84 pupils
England 14.8% 4.3 pts below
EHC plans 6.5% 52 pupils
England 6.0% 0.5 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 50
Autistic spectrum disorder 29
Specific learning difficulty 23
Speech, language & communication 18
Other difficulty or disability 5
Moderate learning difficulty 4

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

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

54.2 15.0 pts above England
School 54.2
Trafford 51.3
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 60.1% England 36.0% 24.1 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 85.8% England 51.4% 34.4 pts above England
EBacc entry 18.9% England 30.6% 11.7 pts below England
EBacc average point score 4.56 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.49 · 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

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.93%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.71 pts higher than England
School 7.93%
Trafford 5.62%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

21.23%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

5.41 pts higher than England
School 21.23%
Trafford 13.07%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.80%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

2.00 pts higher than England
School 3.80%
Trafford 1.46%
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

105.8% 13.5 pts above England
North Cestrian School
105.8%
Trafford
98.8%
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.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information