Brine Leas School
Audlem Road, Nantwich, CW5 7DY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE CORNOVII TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Whitehead
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Alsager Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Crewe and Nantwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,417
- URN
- 136279
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01270625663
About this school
Brine Leas School is a secondary academy in Nantwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,417 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Brine Leas School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 19 May 2022, 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 | 214 | 224 | 228 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.7 | 48.9 | 49.7 |
| Progress 8 score | 0.00 -0.19 to +0.19 | -0.07 -0.26 to +0.12 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 64% | 53.1% | 52.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 80% | 76.8% | 76.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 48.2% | 46.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
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 Brine Leas 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 | Cheshire East average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.7 | 37.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.9 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.7 | 37.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,431 |
| 2023/24 | 1,440 |
| 2024/25 | 1,411 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Brine Leas School compares
Brine Leas School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.7 | 7% | 15% | 1,417 | — |
| Malbank School and Sixth Form College | — | — | — | 1,289 | 1.2 miles |
| Shavington Academy | 47.8 | 8.2% | 14.4% | 934 | 2.5 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic High School | 47.7 | 6.7% | 19.3% | 642 | 3.1 miles |
| The Oaks Academy | 35.4 | 7.6% | 49.4% | 681 | 3.4 miles |
| Ruskin Community High School | 37.9 | 9.1% | 32.7% | 713 | 3.6 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)
- 15.02%
- English as an additional language
- 4.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.99%
- Persistent absence
- 17.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Malbank School and Sixth Form College1.2 miles
Secondary · Nantwich
-
Shavington Academy2.5 miles
Secondary · Shavington
-
St Thomas More Catholic High School3.1 miles
Secondary · Crewe
-
The Oaks Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Crewe
-
Ruskin Community High School3.6 miles
Secondary · Crewe
Other schools in Nantwich
- Malbank School and Sixth Form College Secondary
- Acton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Bridgemere CofE Primary School Primary
- Highfields Academy Primary
- Kingsbourne Academy Primary
- Millfields Primary Academy Primary
- Nantwich Primary Academy Primary
- Pear Tree Primary School Primary
- Sound and District Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Oswald's Worleston CofE Primary School Primary
- Stapeley Broad Lane CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Brine Leas School teach?
- Brine Leas School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Nantwich.
- Who is the headteacher of Brine Leas School?
- The headteacher of Brine Leas School is Mr Paul Whitehead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Brine Leas School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Brine Leas 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 Brine Leas School?
- Brine Leas School has 1,417 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Brine Leas School full?
- Brine Leas School has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,417 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 Brine Leas School a faith school?
- No. Brine Leas School has no designated religious character.
- Is Brine Leas School a selective school?
- No. Brine Leas School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Brine Leas School part of an academy trust?
- Brine Leas School is part of THE CORNOVII TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Brine Leas School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.7 in 2022/23 and 49.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Brine Leas School compare with other schools in Cheshire East?
- Brine Leas School ranked 8th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Brine Leas School's absence rate?
- Brine Leas School's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Brine Leas School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Brine Leas 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.