Bowland High
Riversmead, Sawley Road, Clitheroe, BB7 4QS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Fielden
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Achievement Through Collaboration Trust
- Constituency
- Ribble Valley
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 575
- Pupils on roll
- 644
- URN
- 136997
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01200441374
About this school
Bowland High is a secondary academy in Clitheroe. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 644 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
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 | 115 | 113 | 108 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.5 | 49.6 | 47.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.08 to +0.45 | +0.38 +0.11 to +0.65 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 54% | 42.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 75.2% | 70.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 8.8% | 34.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.9 | 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 Bowland High 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 | 48.5 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.6 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.8 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 557 |
| 2023/24 | 590 |
| 2024/25 | 615 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bowland High compares
Bowland High ranked 28th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 | 47.8 | 6.9% | 9.6% | 644 | — |
| Clitheroe Royal Grammar School | 74.4 | 4.8% | 11.9% | 1,496 | 2.9 miles |
| West Craven High School | 37.4 | 12.6% | 28.6% | 528 | 7.0 miles |
| St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy | 44.9 | 8.2% | 15.9% | 1,117 | 7.3 miles |
| Marsden Heights Community College | 40.3 | 7.9% | 33.5% | 1,047 | 7.9 miles |
| Pendle Vale College | 42.5 | 8.2% | 34.4% | 1,046 | 7.9 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)
- 9.59%
- English as an additional language
- 2.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.9%
- Persistent absence
- 16.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School2.9 miles
Secondary · Clitheroe
-
West Craven High School7.0 miles
Secondary · Barnoldswick
-
St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy7.3 miles
Secondary · Clitheroe
-
Marsden Heights Community College7.9 miles
Secondary · Nelson
-
Pendle Vale College7.9 miles
Secondary · Nelson
Other schools in Clitheroe
- Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Secondary
- St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Ribblesdale Nursery School Nursery
- Barrow URC Primary School Primary
- Bolton by Bowland Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Chatburn Church of England Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Brookside Primary School Primary
- Clitheroe Pendle Primary School Primary
- Edisford Primary School Primary
- Gisburn Primary School Primary
- Grindleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Slaidburn Brennands Endowed Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bowland High teach?
- Bowland High teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Clitheroe.
- Who is the headteacher of Bowland High?
- The headteacher of Bowland High is Mrs Laura Fielden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bowland High last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bowland High, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Bowland High?
- Bowland High has 644 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Bowland High full?
- Bowland High has capacity for 575 pupils and 644 on roll (112%), 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 Bowland High a faith school?
- No. Bowland High has no designated religious character.
- Is Bowland High a selective school?
- No. Bowland High is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bowland High?
- Bowland High is part of ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH COLLABORATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bowland High's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.5 in 2022/23 and 47.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bowland High rank locally?
- Bowland High ranked 28th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% 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 Bowland High's absence rate?
- Bowland High's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bowland High's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bowland High'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.