OFSTED
21 May 2025
Latest ungraded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
25 February 2020
Graded inspection
Good
Published
4 June 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Warrington
Trust
THE CHALLENGE ACADEMY TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
1,058
1,058 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
511
48.3% of pupils
Male pupils
547
51.7% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
2.8 pts
above England
School
27.6%
Warrington
23.7%
North West
28.5%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
6.2 pts
below England
School
14.1%
Warrington
16.0%
North West
18.1%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.6 pts
above England
School
1.6%
Warrington
0.7%
North West
0.8%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
81.2%
859
Chinese
6.0%
63
Any other Asian background
2.2%
23
Any other White background
2.2%
23
Pakistani
1.3%
14
Unclassified
1.3%
14
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
19.1%
202 of
1,058 pupils
1.7 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
1.7 pts
below
England
6.0%
0.0 pts
above
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
46.5
7.3 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.22 · 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
7.74%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.53 pts
higher than
England
School
7.74%
Warrington
5.79%
North West
6.25%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
19.79%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
3.97 pts
higher than
England
School
19.79%
Warrington
12.94%
North West
15.89%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.76%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.96 pts
higher than
England
School
3.76%
Warrington
1.66%
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
88.2%
4.2 pts
below England
Penketh High School
88.2%
Warrington
92.5%
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.