Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School
Queen's Road West, Accrington, BB5 4AY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- ACCRINGTON ST CHRISTOPHER'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Richard Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Constituency
- Hyndburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,280
- Pupils on roll
- 1,280
- URN
- 137421
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254232992
About this school
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School is a Church of England secondary academy in Accrington. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,280 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
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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- 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 | 202 | 208 | 200 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.6 | 45.5 | 50.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.30 to +0.10 | -0.26 -0.45 to -0.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% | 41.3% | 59.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 80% | 64.9% | 73.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 13% | 36.5% | 23% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
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 Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50.6 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.7 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,272 |
| 2023/24 | 1,313 |
| 2024/25 | 1,293 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School compares
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School ranked 16th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.7 | 6.2% | 14.6% | 1,280 | — |
| Accrington Academy | 39.4 | 10.4% | 41.2% | 953 | 0.2 miles |
| Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, Hyndburn | 42.7 | 9.4% | 33% | 801 | 1.1 miles |
| Rhyddings | 36.5 | 11.7% | 47.3% | 610 | 1.2 miles |
| The Hollins | 40.7 | 7.8% | 33.8% | 794 | 1.9 miles |
| The Hyndburn Academy | 37.4 | 7.6% | 43.9% | 641 | 1.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.64%
- English as an additional language
- 5.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.24%
- Persistent absence
- 11.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Accrington Academy0.2 miles
Secondary · Accrington
-
Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, Hyndburn1.1 miles
Secondary · Accrington
-
Rhyddings1.2 miles
Secondary · Accrington
-
The Hollins1.9 miles
Secondary · Accrington
-
The Hyndburn Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
Other schools in Accrington
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Accrington.
- Accrington Academy Secondary
- Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, Hyndburn Secondary
- Rhyddings Secondary
- The Hollins Secondary
- Fairfield Nursery School Nursery
- Lee Royd Nursery School Nursery
- Accrington Benjamin Hargreaves Church of England Primary School Primary
- Accrington Huncoat Primary School Primary
- Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School Primary
- Accrington Peel Park Primary School Primary
- Accrington Spring Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Accrington St John with St Augustine Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School teach?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Accrington.
- Who is the headteacher of Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School?
- The headteacher of Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School is Headteacher Richard Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High 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 big is Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School has 1,280 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School full?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School has capacity for 1,280 pupils and 1,280 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 Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School a faith school?
- Yes. Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Blackburn.
- Is Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School a selective school?
- No. Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School is part of ACCRINGTON ST CHRISTOPHER'S CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.6 in 2022/23 and 50.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School rank locally?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School ranked 16th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 78% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 35% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School's absence rate?
- Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High 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.