Sir John Thursby Community College
Eastern Avenue, Burnley, BB10 2AT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Matt Renshaw
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Burnley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,125
- Pupils on roll
- 1,121
- URN
- 134996
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282682313
About this school
Sir John Thursby Community College is a foundation secondary school in Burnley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,121 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sir John Thursby Community College, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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 | 224 | 225 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.3 | 37.5 | 41.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.14 -0.33 to +0.06 | -0.29 -0.49 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 27.6% | 30.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 51.1% | 50.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 71% | 74.2% | 78.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
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 Sir John Thursby Community 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 | 41.3 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,125 |
| 2023/24 | 1,117 |
| 2024/25 | 1,118 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sir John Thursby Community College compares
Sir John Thursby Community College ranked 56th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire 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 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41 | 8.4% | 39.6% | 1,121 | — |
| Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy | 37.6 | 10.2% | 35.8% | 1,261 | 0.8 miles |
| Unity College | 40.3 | 13% | 34.8% | 1,402 | 1.4 miles |
| Marsden Heights Community College | 40.3 | 7.9% | 33.5% | 1,047 | 1.6 miles |
| Pendle Vale College | 42.5 | 8.2% | 34.4% | 1,046 | 2.9 miles |
| Burnley High School | 38.6 | 8% | 40.4% | 579 | 3.1 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
- 25 April 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report22 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.62%
- English as an additional language
- 73.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.37%
- Persistent absence
- 26.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Burnley
-
Unity College1.4 miles
Secondary · Burnley
-
Marsden Heights Community College1.6 miles
Secondary · Nelson
-
Pendle Vale College2.9 miles
Secondary · Nelson
-
Burnley High School3.1 miles
Secondary · Burnley
Other schools in Burnley
Sir John Thursby Community College ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Burnley.
- Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Burnley High School Secondary
- Shuttleworth College Secondary
- Unity College Secondary
- Basnett Street Nursery School Nursery
- Ightenhill Nursery School Nursery
- Reedley Hallows Nursery School Nursery
- Rockwood Nursery School Nursery
- Rosegrove Nursery School Nursery
- Stoneyholme Nursery School Nursery
- Taywood Nursery School Nursery
- Whitegate Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does Sir John Thursby Community College teach?
- Sir John Thursby Community College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Burnley.
- Who is the headteacher of Sir John Thursby Community College?
- The headteacher of Sir John Thursby Community College is Mr Matt Renshaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sir John Thursby Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sir John Thursby Community 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 Sir John Thursby Community College?
- Sir John Thursby Community College has 1,121 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Sir John Thursby Community College full?
- Sir John Thursby Community College has capacity for 1,125 pupils and 1,121 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 Sir John Thursby Community College a faith school?
- No. Sir John Thursby Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Sir John Thursby Community College a selective school?
- No. Sir John Thursby Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Sir John Thursby Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.3 in 2022/23 and 41 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sir John Thursby Community College compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Sir John Thursby Community College ranked 56th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire 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 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sir John Thursby Community College's absence rate?
- Sir John Thursby Community College's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sir John Thursby Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir John Thursby Community 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 1 July 2026.