The Hathershaw College
Bellfield Avenue, Hathershaw, Oldham, OL8 3EP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE PINNACLE LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Susie Fraser
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Pinnacle Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,034
- URN
- 137039
- Local authority
- Oldham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617708555
About this school
The Hathershaw College is a secondary academy in Oldham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,034 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Hathershaw College, 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
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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 211 | 205 | 213 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.5 | 41.0 | 39.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.07 -0.26 to +0.12 | -0.23 -0.42 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 37.6% | 26.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 53.2% | 47.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 40% | 35.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.8 | 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 The Hathershaw 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 | Oldham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.5 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41 | 38.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.3 | 35.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,057 |
| 2023/24 | 1,047 |
| 2024/25 | 1,051 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Hathershaw College compares
The Hathershaw College ranked 8th of 10 secondary schools in Oldham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.3 | 7.6% | 48.9% | 1,034 | — |
| Oasis Academy Oldham | 42.8 | 9.3% | 54.6% | 1,415 | 0.7 miles |
| The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy | — | 4.7% | 41.5% | 950 | 1.4 miles |
| Oasis Academy Leesbrook | 41.5 | 8.1% | 48.8% | 1,349 | 1.5 miles |
| The Blue Coat CofE School | 59.1 | 4.8% | 17% | 1,702 | 1.6 miles |
| Dixons Ashton Academy | 38.1 | 10.9% | 50.1% | 1,326 | 1.7 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)
- 48.91%
- English as an additional language
- 48%
- Overall absence
- 7.64%
- Persistent absence
- 24.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Oasis Academy Oldham0.7 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Oasis Academy Leesbrook1.5 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
The Blue Coat CofE School1.6 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Dixons Ashton Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
Other schools in Oldham
The Hathershaw College ranks 7th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Oldham.
- E-ACT Royton and Crompton Academy Secondary
- E-ACT the Oldham Academy North Secondary
- North Chadderton School Secondary
- Oasis Academy Leesbrook Secondary
- Oasis Academy Oldham Secondary
- Saddleworth School Secondary
- Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Secondary
- The Blue Coat CofE School Secondary
- The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy Secondary
- The Crompton House Church of England Academy Secondary
- The Radclyffe School Secondary
- Waterhead Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Hathershaw College teach?
- The Hathershaw College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Oldham.
- Who is the principal of The Hathershaw College?
- The principal of The Hathershaw College is Mrs Susie Fraser, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Hathershaw College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Hathershaw 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 The Hathershaw College?
- The Hathershaw College has 1,034 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Hathershaw College full?
- The Hathershaw College has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,034 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Hathershaw College a faith school?
- No. The Hathershaw College has no designated religious character.
- Is The Hathershaw College a selective school?
- No. The Hathershaw College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Hathershaw College part of an academy trust?
- The Hathershaw College is part of THE PINNACLE LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Hathershaw College have?
- The schools register lists The Hathershaw College's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Hathershaw College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.5 in 2022/23 and 39.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Hathershaw College compare with other schools in Oldham?
- The Hathershaw College ranked 8th of 10 secondary schools in Oldham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Hathershaw College's absence rate?
- The Hathershaw College's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Hathershaw College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Hathershaw 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 15 July 2026.