Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School
Selkirk Drive, Holmes Chapel, Crewe, CW4 7DX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- HOLMES CHAPEL COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM COLLEGE
- Headteacher
- Mr Nigel Bielby
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Congleton
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,395
- Pupils on roll
- 1,311
- URN
- 137449
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01477410500
About this school
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School is a secondary academy in Crewe. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,311 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holmes Chapel Comprehensive 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 239 | 230 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.4 | 50.2 | 48.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.18 -0.38 to +0.01 | -0.04 -0.22 to +0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 55.6% | 43.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 75.7% | 69.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 18.4% | 15.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 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 Holmes Chapel Comprehensive 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 | Cheshire East average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.4 | 37.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.2 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.2 | 37.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,317 |
| 2023/24 | 1,311 |
| 2024/25 | 1,322 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School compares
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School ranked 11th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.2 | 8.2% | 13.4% | 1,311 | — |
| Middlewich High School | 41.2 | 8.3% | 25.3% | 665 | 3.3 miles |
| Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College | 55.6 | 5.1% | 12.8% | 1,340 | 3.5 miles |
| Sandbach School | 48.2 | 7.4% | 14.8% | 1,534 | 3.7 miles |
| Congleton High School | 44.8 | 9.8% | 15.6% | 1,174 | 5.5 miles |
| The Rudheath Senior Academy | 35.7 | 12.4% | 34.6% | 576 | 6.3 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
-
Ungraded inspection report29 January 2025
- 11 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.44%
- English as an additional language
- 3.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.21%
- Persistent absence
- 22.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Middlewich High School3.3 miles
Secondary · Middlewich
-
Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College3.5 miles
Secondary · Sandbach
-
Sandbach School3.7 miles
Secondary · Sandbach
-
Congleton High School5.5 miles
Secondary · Congleton
-
The Rudheath Senior Academy6.3 miles
Secondary · Northwich
Other schools in Crewe
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School ranks 2nd of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Crewe.
- Cheshire Studio School Secondary
- Crewe Engineering and Design UTC Secondary
- Madeley High School Secondary
- Ruskin Community High School Secondary
- Sir William Stanier School Secondary
- St Thomas More Catholic High School Secondary
- The Oaks Academy Secondary
- Westminster Nursery School Nursery
- Audlem St James' CofE Primary School Primary
- Beechwood Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Betley CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Brierley Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School teach?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Crewe.
- Who is the headteacher of Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School?
- The headteacher of Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School is Mr Nigel Bielby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holmes Chapel Comprehensive 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 Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School has 1,311 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School full?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School has capacity for 1,395 pupils and 1,311 on roll (94%), so it has space against 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 Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School a faith school?
- No. Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School has no designated religious character.
- Is Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School a selective school?
- No. Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School part of an academy trust?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School is part of HOLMES CHAPEL COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL & SIXTH FORM COLLEGE. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School have?
- The schools register lists Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.4 in 2022/23 and 48.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School compare with other schools in Cheshire East?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School ranked 11th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's absence rate?
- Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holmes Chapel Comprehensive 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 1 July 2026.