The Rudheath Senior Academy
Middlewich Road, Rudheath, Northwich, CW9 7DT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NORTH WEST ACADEMIES TRUST LIMITED
- Principal
- Mrs Christine Williams
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- North West Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 840
- Pupils on roll
- 576
- URN
- 137582
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0160642515
About this school
The Rudheath Senior Academy is a secondary academy in Northwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 576 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 12 January 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 88 | 104 | 121 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.9 | 37.2 | 35.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.56 -0.86 to -0.26 | -0.22 -0.50 to +0.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 26.9% | 28.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 44% | 49% | 50.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 18.3% | 23.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
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 The Rudheath Senior Academy 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 West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34.9 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.2 | 40.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 35.7 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 560 |
| 2023/24 | 593 |
| 2024/25 | 590 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Rudheath Senior Academy compares
The Rudheath Senior Academy ranked 17th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35.7 | 12.4% | 34.6% | 576 | — |
| The County High School, Leftwich | 51.9 | 7.6% | 15.8% | 1,046 | 1.4 miles |
| St Nicholas Catholic High School | 50.8 | 8.2% | 14% | 1,201 | 1.9 miles |
| Hartford Church of England High School | 50.3 | 8.1% | 18.7% | 1,102 | 2.3 miles |
| Weaverham High School | 50.6 | 8% | 19% | 1,154 | 4.0 miles |
| The Winsford Academy | 30.6 | 16.7% | 44.9% | 945 | 4.7 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 34.58%
- English as an additional language
- 6.6%
- Overall absence
- 12.35%
- Persistent absence
- 34.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The County High School, Leftwich1.4 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
St Nicholas Catholic High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
Hartford Church of England High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
Weaverham High School4.0 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
The Winsford Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Winsford
Other schools in Northwich
The Rudheath Senior Academy ranks 5th of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Northwich.
- Hartford Church of England High School Secondary
- St Nicholas Catholic High School Secondary
- The County High School, Leftwich Secondary
- Weaverham High School Secondary
- Antrobus St Mark's CofE Primary School Primary
- Barnton Community Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Charles Darwin Community Primary School Primary
- Comberbach Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Crowton Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Cuddington Primary School Primary
- Davenham CofE Primary School Primary
- Great Budworth CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Rudheath Senior Academy teach?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Northwich.
- Who is the principal of The Rudheath Senior Academy?
- The principal of The Rudheath Senior Academy is Mrs Christine Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Rudheath Senior Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Rudheath Senior Academy, 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 The Rudheath Senior Academy?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy has 576 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Rudheath Senior Academy full?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy has capacity for 840 pupils and 576 on roll (69%), 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 The Rudheath Senior Academy a faith school?
- No. The Rudheath Senior Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Rudheath Senior Academy a selective school?
- No. The Rudheath Senior Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Rudheath Senior Academy?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy is part of NORTH WEST ACADEMIES TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Rudheath Senior Academy have?
- The schools register lists The Rudheath Senior Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Rudheath Senior Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.9 in 2022/23 and 35.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Rudheath Senior Academy rank locally?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy ranked 17th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% 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 Rudheath Senior Academy's absence rate?
- The Rudheath Senior Academy's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Rudheath Senior Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Rudheath Senior Academy'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.