Sandbach School
Crewe Road, Sandbach, CW11 3NS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- SANDBACH SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Burns
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Congleton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,534
- URN
- 137491
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01270758870
About this school
Sandbach School is a boys' secondary academy in Sandbach. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,534 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sandbach School, 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 230 | 264 | 232 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.7 | 47.7 | 48.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.03 -0.22 to +0.15 | +0.28 +0.11 to +0.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 48.1% | 49.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 72.3% | 74.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 23% | 11% | 17.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
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 Sandbach 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 | 48.7 | 37.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.7 | 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 | 6.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,504 |
| 2023/24 | 1,507 |
| 2024/25 | 1,499 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sandbach School compares
Sandbach School ranked 10th 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 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.2 | 7.4% | 14.8% | 1,534 | — |
| Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College | 55.6 | 5.1% | 12.8% | 1,340 | 0.2 miles |
| Sir William Stanier School | 28.4 | 13.6% | 46.2% | 633 | 3.6 miles |
| Alsager School | 51.9 | 7% | 14.5% | 1,528 | 3.7 miles |
| Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School | 48.2 | 8.2% | 13.4% | 1,311 | 3.7 miles |
| Cheshire Studio School | 24 | 18.3% | 50% | 0 | 4.1 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)
- 14.82%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.39%
- Persistent absence
- 18.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College0.2 miles
Secondary · Sandbach
-
Sir William Stanier School3.6 miles
Secondary · Crewe
-
Alsager School3.7 miles
Secondary · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School3.7 miles
Secondary · Crewe
-
Cheshire Studio School4.1 miles
Secondary · Crewe
Other schools in Sandbach
- Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College Secondary
- Brereton CofE Primary School Primary
- Elworth CofE Primary School Primary
- Elworth Hall Primary School Primary
- Offley Primary Academy Primary
- Sandbach Primary Academy Primary
- Smallwood CofE Primary School Primary
- St John's CofE Academy Primary
- Warmingham CofE Primary School Primary
- Wheelock Primary School Primary
- Cheshire Hall School Special schools
- The Lodge AP Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Sandbach School teach?
- Sandbach School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Sandbach.
- Who is the headteacher of Sandbach School?
- The headteacher of Sandbach School is Mrs Sarah Burns, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sandbach School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sandbach 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 Sandbach School?
- Sandbach School has 1,534 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Sandbach School full?
- Sandbach School has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,534 on roll (102%), 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 Sandbach School a faith school?
- No. Sandbach School has no designated religious character.
- Is Sandbach School a selective school?
- No. Sandbach School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Sandbach School part of an academy trust?
- Sandbach School is part of SANDBACH SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sandbach School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.7 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 Sandbach School compare with other schools in Cheshire East?
- Sandbach School ranked 10th 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 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sandbach School's absence rate?
- Sandbach School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sandbach School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sandbach 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.