What ages does Sir Tom Finney Community High School teach?

Sir Tom Finney Community High School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Preston.

Who is the headteacher of Sir Tom Finney Community High School?

The headteacher of Sir Tom Finney Community High School is Miss Katy Stringer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.

Has Sir Tom Finney Community High School been inspected?

Ofsted has inspected Sir Tom Finney Community 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 Sir Tom Finney Community High School?

Sir Tom Finney Community High School has 255 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.

Is Sir Tom Finney Community High School full?

Sir Tom Finney Community High School has capacity for 245 pupils and 255 on roll (104%), 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 Tom Finney Community High School a faith school?

No. Sir Tom Finney Community High School has no designated religious character.

What SEN provision does Sir Tom Finney Community High School have?

The schools register lists Sir Tom Finney Community High School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.

What is Sir Tom Finney Community High School's absence rate?

Sir Tom Finney Community High School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.

What are Sir Tom Finney Community High School's exam results?

Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir Tom Finney Community 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.

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Lancashire
Preston
Sir Tom Finney Community High School

Sir Tom Finney Community High School

Ribbleton Hall Drive, Preston, PR2 6EE

Phase: Special schools
School type: Community special school
Ages: 11 to 19
Gender: Mixed
Headteacher: Miss Katy Stringer
SEN provision: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Constituency: Preston
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Capacity: 245
Pupils on roll: 255
URN: 135346
Local authority: Lancashire
Website: School website
Telephone: 01772795749

About this school

Sir Tom Finney Community High School is a community special school in Preston. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 255 pupils on roll.

Ofsted has inspected Sir Tom Finney Community 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

England: previous inspection framework

Inspected 29 March 2023 · short inspection

Good

Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one

Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 March 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.

Read the full report on Ofsted's website

Exam results

Key stage 4 (GCSEs)

Measure	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
Pupils at the end of key stage 4	31	27	31
Attainment 8 score	-	-	0.3
Progress 8 score	-	-	-
Grade 5 or above in English and maths	-	-	0%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths	-	-	0%
Entered the English Baccalaureate	-	-	0%
English Baccalaureate average point score	-	-	0.0

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 Tom Finney Community High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.

Overall absence rate

Year	This school	England average
2022/23	11.6%	6.8%
2023/24	10.9%	6.6%
2024/25	10.5%	6.2%

Department for Education pupil absence data.

Pupils on roll

Year	This school
2022/23	217
2023/24	231
2024/25	237

School census, spring count each academic year.

School context

From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.

Free school meals (last 6 years): 47.13%
English as an additional language: 14.8%
Overall absence: 10.54%
Persistent absence: 28.66%

Location

Nearby schools

Highfield Priory School
Independent schools · Preston

0.7 miles
Larches High School
Local authority maintained schools · Preston

1.6 miles
Acorns Primary School
Special schools · Preston

1.6 miles
Abrar Academy
Independent schools · Preston

2.1 miles
Imam Muhammad Zakariya School
Independent schools · Preston

2.3 miles

Other schools in Preston

Acorns Primary School Special schools
Applebee Wood School Academies
Brook View School Special schools
Cedar Lodge School Special schools
Hillside Specialist School and College Special schools
Kirkham Pear Tree School Special schools
Larches High School Local authority maintained schools
Moorbrook School Special schools
New Focus Education Special schools
Oakfield House School Special schools
Pioneer TEC Special schools
Progress School Special schools

Common questions

What ages does Sir Tom Finney Community High School teach?: Sir Tom Finney Community High School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Preston.
Who is the headteacher of Sir Tom Finney Community High School?: The headteacher of Sir Tom Finney Community High School is Miss Katy Stringer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
Has Sir Tom Finney Community High School been inspected?: Ofsted has inspected Sir Tom Finney Community 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 Sir Tom Finney Community High School?: Sir Tom Finney Community High School has 255 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
Is Sir Tom Finney Community High School full?: Sir Tom Finney Community High School has capacity for 245 pupils and 255 on roll (104%), 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 Tom Finney Community High School a faith school?: No. Sir Tom Finney Community High School has no designated religious character.
What SEN provision does Sir Tom Finney Community High School have?: The schools register lists Sir Tom Finney Community High School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
What is Sir Tom Finney Community High School's absence rate?: Sir Tom Finney Community High School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
What are Sir Tom Finney Community High School's exam results?: Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir Tom Finney Community 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 1 July 2026.