West Hill School
Thompson Cross, Stamford Street, Stalybridge, SK15 1LX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- WEST HILL SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Claire Cronin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Stalybridge and Hyde
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 850
- Pupils on roll
- 852
- URN
- 137020
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01613382193
About this school
West Hill School is a boys' secondary academy in Stalybridge. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 852 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected West Hill 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 161 | 160 | 169 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 44.3 | 43.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.33 -0.55 to -0.11 | -0.31 -0.53 to -0.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 36.9% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 60% | 64.4% | 60.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 15.6% | 8.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
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 West Hill 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 | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.1 | 42.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.3 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.5 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 834 |
| 2023/24 | 847 |
| 2024/25 | 853 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Hill School compares
West Hill School ranked 8th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.5 | 6.5% | 29.5% | 852 | — |
| All Saints Catholic College | 37.5 | 9.1% | 40.6% | 810 | 1.1 miles |
| Dixons Pennine Academy | 35.8 | 10.4% | 45% | 592 | 1.1 miles |
| Rayner Stephens High School | 35.6 | 13.1% | 49.8% | 635 | 1.2 miles |
| Dixons Ashton Academy | 38.1 | 10.9% | 50.1% | 1,326 | 1.5 miles |
| St Damian's RC Science College | 55.1 | 5.2% | 25% | 829 | 1.6 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.54%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 6.51%
- Persistent absence
- 16.47%
Location
Nearby schools
-
All Saints Catholic College1.1 miles
Secondary · Dukinfield
-
Dixons Pennine Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
Rayner Stephens High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Dukinfield
-
Dixons Ashton Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
St Damian's RC Science College1.6 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
Other schools in Stalybridge
- Dixons Pennine Academy Secondary
- Arlies Primary School Primary
- Buckton Vale Primary School Primary
- Dixons Silver Springs Primary Primary
- Gorse Hall Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Millbrook Primary School Primary
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge Primary
- St Raphael's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St. Peter's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- Stalyhill Infant School Primary
- Stalyhill Junior School Primary
- Wild Bank Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does West Hill School teach?
- West Hill School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Stalybridge.
- Who is the headteacher of West Hill School?
- The headteacher of West Hill School is Claire Cronin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has West Hill School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Hill 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 West Hill School?
- West Hill School has 852 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is West Hill School full?
- West Hill School has capacity for 850 pupils and 852 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 West Hill School a faith school?
- No. West Hill School has no designated religious character.
- Is West Hill School a selective school?
- No. West Hill School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is West Hill School part of an academy trust?
- West Hill School is part of WEST HILL SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Hill School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.1 in 2022/23 and 43.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Hill School compare with other schools in Tameside?
- West Hill School ranked 8th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is West Hill School's absence rate?
- West Hill School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Hill School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Hill 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 15 July 2026.