Christopher Whitehead Language College
Bromwich Road, St John's, Worcester, WR2 4AF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHRISTOPHER WHITEHEAD LANGUAGE COLLEGE
- Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Clark
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Worcester
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,525
- Pupils on roll
- 1,580
- URN
- 136890
- Local authority
- Worcestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01905423906
About this school
Christopher Whitehead Language College is a secondary academy in Worcester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,580 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Christopher Whitehead Language 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 May 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.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 247 | 246 | 256 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.2 | 45.0 | 43.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.28 to +0.08 | -0.18 -0.36 to 0.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 42.3% | 41.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 64% | 65.4% | 62.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 57% | 62.2% | 62.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
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 Christopher Whitehead Language 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 | Worcestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.2 | 38.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45 | 37.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.8 | 36.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,496 |
| 2023/24 | 1,526 |
| 2024/25 | 1,596 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Christopher Whitehead Language College compares
Christopher Whitehead Language College ranked 17th of 31 secondary schools in Worcestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.8 | 9.4% | 23.2% | 1,580 | — |
| Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College | 53.1 | 7.8% | 17.4% | 1,036 | 1.0 miles |
| Bishop Perowne CofE College | 40.3 | 11.5% | 33.6% | 1,155 | 1.5 miles |
| Nunnery Wood High School | 49.7 | 8.6% | 19.5% | 1,488 | 1.8 miles |
| Tudor Grange Academy Worcester | 45.9 | 8.5% | 27.7% | 1,059 | 2.2 miles |
| Dyson Perrins CofE Academy | 43.8 | 11% | 36.4% | 592 | 5.5 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)
- 23.18%
- English as an additional language
- 10.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.4%
- Persistent absence
- 27.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College1.0 miles
Secondary · Worcester
-
Bishop Perowne CofE College1.5 miles
Secondary · Worcester
-
Nunnery Wood High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Worcester
-
Tudor Grange Academy Worcester2.2 miles
Secondary · Worcester
-
Dyson Perrins CofE Academy5.5 miles
Secondary · Malvern
Other schools in Worcester
Christopher Whitehead Language College ranks 6th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Worcester.
- Bishop Perowne CofE College Secondary
- Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College Secondary
- Hanley Castle High School Secondary
- Nunnery Wood High School Secondary
- The Chantry School Secondary
- Tudor Grange Academy Worcester Secondary
- Broadheath CofE Primary School Primary
- Broadwas CofE Aided Primary School Primary
- Callow End CofE Primary School Primary
- Carnforth School Primary
- Cherry Orchard Primary School Primary
- Claines CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Christopher Whitehead Language College teach?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Worcester.
- Who is the headteacher of Christopher Whitehead Language College?
- The headteacher of Christopher Whitehead Language College is Mrs Catherine Clark, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Christopher Whitehead Language College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Christopher Whitehead Language 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 Christopher Whitehead Language College?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College has 1,580 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Christopher Whitehead Language College full?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College has capacity for 1,525 pupils and 1,580 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 Christopher Whitehead Language College a faith school?
- No. Christopher Whitehead Language College has no designated religious character.
- Is Christopher Whitehead Language College a selective school?
- No. Christopher Whitehead Language College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Christopher Whitehead Language College part of an academy trust?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College is part of CHRISTOPHER WHITEHEAD LANGUAGE COLLEGE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Christopher Whitehead Language College have?
- The schools register lists Christopher Whitehead Language College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Christopher Whitehead Language College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.2 in 2022/23 and 43.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Christopher Whitehead Language College compare with other schools in Worcestershire?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College ranked 17th of 31 secondary schools in Worcestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Christopher Whitehead Language College's absence rate?
- Christopher Whitehead Language College's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Christopher Whitehead Language College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Christopher Whitehead Language 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.