Balshaw's Church of England High School
Church Road, Leyland, PR25 3AH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Steven Haycocks
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- South Ribble
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 925
- Pupils on roll
- 921
- URN
- 119775
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01772421009
About this school
Balshaw's Church of England High School is a Church of England voluntary controlled secondary school in Leyland. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 921 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 177 | 177 | 188 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.7 | 52.1 | 52.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.20 to +0.21 | +0.18 -0.03 to +0.39 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 58.2% | 57.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 81% | 79.7% | 78.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 62.7% | 55.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
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 Balshaw's Church of England 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.7 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.1 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.3 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 916 |
| 2023/24 | 921 |
| 2024/25 | 933 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Balshaw's Church of England High School compares
Balshaw's Church of England High School ranked 15th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.3 | 5.1% | 13.6% | 921 | — |
| Wellfield Academy | 37.7 | 10.7% | 36.8% | 562 | 0.7 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic High School | 45 | 7.2% | 21.3% | 813 | 1.0 miles |
| Academy@Worden | 43.2 | 6.9% | 33.7% | 660 | 1.2 miles |
| Parklands High School | 44.4 | 6.7% | 28.5% | 1,102 | 2.7 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England High School | 58.9 | 4.1% | 3.4% | 1,134 | 2.8 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)
- 13.61%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.05%
- Persistent absence
- 12.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wellfield Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Leyland
-
St Mary's Catholic High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Leyland
-
Academy@Worden1.2 miles
Secondary · Leyland
-
Parklands High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
St Michael's Church of England High School2.8 miles
Secondary · Chorley
Other schools in Leyland
Balshaw's Church of England High School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Leyland.
- Academy@Worden Secondary
- Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy Secondary
- St Mary's Catholic High School Secondary
- Wellfield Academy Secondary
- Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Farington Moss St. Paul's C.E. Primary School Primary
- Farington Primary School Primary
- Lancaster Lane Primary and Pre-School Primary
- Lever House Primary School Primary
- Leyland Methodist Infant School Primary
- Leyland Methodist Junior School Primary
- Leyland St James Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Balshaw's Church of England High School teach?
- Balshaw's Church of England High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leyland.
- Who is the headteacher of Balshaw's Church of England High School?
- The headteacher of Balshaw's Church of England High School is Mr Steven Haycocks, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Balshaw's Church of England High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Balshaw's Church of England 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 Balshaw's Church of England High School?
- Balshaw's Church of England High School has 921 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Balshaw's Church of England High School full?
- Balshaw's Church of England High School has capacity for 925 pupils and 921 on roll (100%), 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 Balshaw's Church of England High School a faith school?
- Yes. Balshaw's Church of England High School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Is Balshaw's Church of England High School a selective school?
- No. Balshaw's Church of England High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Balshaw's Church of England High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.7 in 2022/23 and 52.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Balshaw's Church of England High School rank locally?
- Balshaw's Church of England High School ranked 15th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 82% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Balshaw's Church of England High School's absence rate?
- Balshaw's Church of England High School's overall absence rate is 5.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Balshaw's Church of England High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Balshaw's Church of England 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 30 June 2026.