Parklands High School
Southport Road, Chorley, PR7 1LL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ASPIRATIONAL FUTURES MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Clare Batson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Aspirational Futures Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,116
- Pupils on roll
- 1,102
- URN
- 138647
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01257264596
About this school
Parklands High School is a secondary academy in Chorley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,102 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Parklands High 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 May 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 | 212 | 220 | 209 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.9 | 50.8 | 44.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.06 -0.25 to +0.14 | +0.39 +0.19 to +0.58 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 53.6% | 34.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 78.2% | 57.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 11.4% | 7.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.0 | 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 Parklands 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 | 47.9 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.8 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.4 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,107 |
| 2023/24 | 1,120 |
| 2024/25 | 1,106 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parklands High School compares
Parklands High School ranked 40th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.4 | 6.7% | 28.5% | 1,102 | — |
| St Michael's Church of England High School | 58.9 | 4.1% | 3.4% | 1,134 | 0.5 miles |
| Southlands High School | 42.1 | 9.9% | 28.6% | 821 | 1.0 miles |
| Albany Academy | 43.7 | 8.9% | 29.5% | 725 | 1.4 miles |
| Holy Cross Catholic High School | 55 | 7% | 13% | 976 | 1.4 miles |
| Balshaw's Church of England High School | 52.3 | 5.1% | 13.6% | 921 | 2.7 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)
- 28.48%
- English as an additional language
- 4.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.66%
- Persistent absence
- 17.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael's Church of England High School0.5 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Southlands High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Albany Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Holy Cross Catholic High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Balshaw's Church of England High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Leyland
Other schools in Chorley
Parklands High School ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Chorley.
- Albany Academy Secondary
- Holy Cross Catholic High School Secondary
- Southlands High School Secondary
- St Michael's Church of England High School Secondary
- Duke Street Nursery School Nursery
- Highfield Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Parklands High School teach?
- Parklands High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of Parklands High School?
- The headteacher of Parklands High School is Mrs Clare Batson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Parklands High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parklands 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 many pupils are at Parklands High School?
- Parklands High School has 1,102 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Parklands High School full?
- Parklands High School has capacity for 1,116 pupils and 1,102 on roll (99%), 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 Parklands High School a faith school?
- No. Parklands High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Parklands High School a selective school?
- No. Parklands High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Parklands High School part of an academy trust?
- Parklands High School is part of ASPIRATIONAL FUTURES MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Parklands High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.9 in 2022/23 and 44.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parklands High School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Parklands High School ranked 40th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Parklands High School's absence rate?
- Parklands High School's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parklands High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parklands 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 1 July 2026.