Ashton Community Science College
Aldwych Drive, Ashton, Preston, PR2 1SL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Principal
- Mrs Janet Hoyle
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Preston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 800
- Pupils on roll
- 837
- URN
- 119707
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772513002
About this school
Ashton Community Science College is a community secondary school in Preston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 837 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. 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 17 May 2023, 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 | 156 | 151 | 178 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.0 | 40.3 | 44.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.09 -0.32 to +0.14 | -0.07 -0.30 to +0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 30.5% | 38.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 49% | 59.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 11.9% | 5.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
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 Ashton Community Science College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.3 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.6 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 862 |
| 2023/24 | 854 |
| 2024/25 | 868 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ashton Community Science College compares
Ashton Community Science College ranked 39th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.6 | 6.8% | 37.4% | 837 | — |
| Our Lady's Catholic High School | 50 | 5.9% | 18.3% | 902 | 1.3 miles |
| Penwortham Priory Academy | 43.2 | 8.7% | 26.1% | 745 | 1.5 miles |
| Fulwood Academy | 41.4 | 6.9% | 44.4% | 973 | 1.7 miles |
| Penwortham Girls' High School | 52.9 | 5.9% | 17.1% | 799 | 1.8 miles |
| Archbishop Temple Church of England High School | 55.4 | 6.6% | 12.3% | 891 | 2.1 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)
- 37.44%
- English as an additional language
- 12.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.77%
- Persistent absence
- 19.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady's Catholic High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Penwortham Priory Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Fulwood Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Penwortham Girls' High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Preston
-
Archbishop Temple Church of England High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Preston
Other schools in Preston
Ashton Community Science College ranks 16th of the 22 ranked secondary schools in Preston.
- All Hallows Catholic High School Secondary
- Archbishop Temple Church of England High School Secondary
- Broughton High School Secondary
- Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School Secondary
- Carr Hill High School Secondary
- Christ The King Catholic High School Secondary
- Corpus Christi Catholic High School Secondary
- Eden Boys' School, Preston Secondary
- Fulwood Academy Secondary
- Garstang Community Academy Secondary
- Hutton Church of England Grammar School Secondary
- Longridge High School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ashton Community Science College teach?
- Ashton Community Science College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Preston.
- Who is the principal of Ashton Community Science College?
- The principal of Ashton Community Science College is Mrs Janet Hoyle, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ashton Community Science College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ashton Community Science College, 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 Ashton Community Science College?
- Ashton Community Science College has 837 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Ashton Community Science College full?
- Ashton Community Science College has capacity for 800 pupils and 837 on roll (105%), 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 Ashton Community Science College a faith school?
- No. Ashton Community Science College has no designated religious character.
- Is Ashton Community Science College a selective school?
- No. Ashton Community Science College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Ashton Community Science College have?
- The schools register lists Ashton Community Science College's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ashton Community Science College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42 in 2022/23 and 44.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ashton Community Science College rank locally?
- Ashton Community Science College ranked 39th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 28% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ashton Community Science College's absence rate?
- Ashton Community Science College's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ashton Community Science College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ashton Community Science College'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 30 June 2026.