Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School
Rochdale Road, Middleton, Manchester, M24 2GL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Bridson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Heywood and Middleton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,186
- URN
- 105844
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01616434009
About this school
Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,186 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 May 2022, 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 | 209 | 204 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.9 | 43.2 | 40.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.18 to +0.21 | -0.12 -0.32 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 38.7% | 31.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 60.8% | 60.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 38.7% | 29.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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 Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic 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 | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.9 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.2 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.9 | 34.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,204 |
| 2023/24 | 1,219 |
| 2024/25 | 1,199 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School compares
Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Rochdale for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.9 | 7.5% | 28.7% | 1,186 | — |
| St Anne's Church of England Academy | 44.1 | 8.8% | 51.4% | 817 | 0.8 miles |
| Dixons Middleton Academy | 40.3 | 10.2% | 33.1% | 1,319 | 1.1 miles |
| North Chadderton School | 43.8 | 8.1% | 26.3% | 1,524 | 1.4 miles |
| Edgar Wood Academy | — | 9.7% | 45.5% | 729 | 1.6 miles |
| The Radclyffe School | — | — | — | 1,430 | 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)
- 28.66%
- English as an additional language
- 12.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.52%
- Persistent absence
- 20.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Anne's Church of England Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Dixons Middleton Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
North Chadderton School1.4 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Edgar Wood Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Heywood
-
The Radclyffe School1.8 miles
Secondary · Oldham
Other schools in Manchester
Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School ranks 52nd of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys 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
- Dean Trust Ardwick Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School teach?
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is Mr Andrew Bridson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic 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 many pupils are at Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School?
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School has 1,186 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School full?
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,186 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.9 in 2022/23 and 40.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School compare with other schools in Rochdale?
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Rochdale for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's absence rate?
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic 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.