The Barlow RC High School
Parrs Wood Road, East Didsbury, Manchester, M20 6BX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Ms Claire Wallace
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Manchester Withington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 930
- URN
- 105581
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01614458053
About this school
The Barlow RC High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 930 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 12 June 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 179 | 170 | 178 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 50.6 | 49.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.19 -0.40 to +0.02 | +0.12 -0.11 to +0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 52.9% | 53.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 75.9% | 72.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 46% | 42.9% | 36% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Barlow RC High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.5 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.6 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.8 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 909 |
| 2023/24 | 898 |
| 2024/25 | 918 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Barlow RC High School compares
The Barlow RC High School ranked 10th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.8 | 7.8% | 41.6% | 930 | — |
| Parrs Wood High School | 48.1 | 8.3% | 32.9% | 1,786 | 0.6 miles |
| Priestnall School | 52.6 | 8.5% | 14.8% | 1,312 | 0.9 miles |
| Burnage Academy for Boys | 46.6 | 8% | 53% | 1,021 | 1.1 miles |
| Didsbury High School | 57.1 | 8.2% | 40.4% | 1,220 | 1.6 miles |
| Levenshulme High School | 52.5 | 5.9% | 52.4% | 1,057 | 1.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.61%
- English as an additional language
- 17.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.76%
- Persistent absence
- 21.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parrs Wood High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Priestnall School0.9 miles
Secondary · Stockport
-
Burnage Academy for Boys1.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Didsbury High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Levenshulme High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
The Barlow RC High School ranks 17th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Barlow RC High School teach?
- The Barlow RC High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of The Barlow RC High School?
- The headteacher of The Barlow RC High School is Ms Claire Wallace, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Barlow RC High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Barlow RC High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Barlow RC High School?
- The Barlow RC High School has 930 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Barlow RC High School full?
- The Barlow RC High School has capacity for 900 pupils and 930 on roll (103%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Barlow RC High School a faith school?
- Yes. The Barlow RC High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is The Barlow RC High School a selective school?
- No. The Barlow RC High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does The Barlow RC High School have?
- The schools register lists The Barlow RC High School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Barlow RC High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 49.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Barlow RC High School rank locally?
- The Barlow RC High School ranked 10th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Barlow RC High School's absence rate?
- The Barlow RC High School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Barlow RC High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Barlow RC High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.