Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College
Pot Hall, Wilton Grove, Heywood, OL10 2AA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic/Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Karen Ames
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Heywood and Middleton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 768
- URN
- 131726
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706360607
About this school
Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College is a voluntary aided secondary school in Heywood. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 768 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 148 | 149 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.7 | 46.8 | 43.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 -0.36 to +0.10 | -0.32 -0.54 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 52.3% | 44.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 71.8% | 69.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 19.5% | 14.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
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 Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England 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 | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.7 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.8 | 37.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.4 | 34.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 750 |
| 2023/24 | 749 |
| 2024/25 | 763 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College compares
Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Rochdale for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.4 | 7.5% | 23.5% | 768 | — |
| Newhouse Academy | 38.9 | 9.1% | 45.7% | 974 | 0.4 miles |
| St Anne's Church of England Academy | 44.1 | 8.8% | 51.4% | 817 | 1.6 miles |
| Edgar Wood Academy | — | 9.7% | 45.5% | 729 | 1.7 miles |
| Matthew Moss High School | 39.4 | 8.4% | 43.7% | 1,198 | 1.8 miles |
| Hazel Wood High School | 35.7 | 10.4% | 55.6% | 671 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.46%
- English as an additional language
- 12.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.45%
- Persistent absence
- 22.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Newhouse Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Heywood
-
St Anne's Church of England Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Edgar Wood Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Heywood
-
Matthew Moss High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Rochdale
-
Hazel Wood High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Bury
Other schools in Heywood
- Edgar Wood Academy Secondary
- Newhouse Academy Secondary
- All Souls Church of England Primary School Primary
- Harwood Park Primary School Primary
- Hopwood Community Primary School Primary
- Our Lady & St Paul's RC Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Rochdale, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St Luke's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford Primary
- Woodland Community Primary School Primary
- Oak Haven School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College teach?
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Heywood.
- Who is the headteacher of Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College?
- The headteacher of Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College is Mrs Karen Ames, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England 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 many pupils are at Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College?
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College has 768 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College full?
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College has capacity for 750 pupils and 768 on roll (102%), 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 Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College a faith school?
- Yes. Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College is designated Roman Catholic/Church of England, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College a selective school?
- No. Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.7 in 2022/23 and 43.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College compare with other schools in Rochdale?
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College ranked 5th of 11 secondary schools in Rochdale for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College's absence rate?
- Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England 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 15 July 2026.