The County High School, Leftwich
Granville Road, Northwich, CW9 8EZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SIR JOHN BRUNNER FOUNDATION
- Principal
- Mr Richard Warburton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,046
- URN
- 138743
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01606333300
About this school
The County High School, Leftwich is a secondary academy in Northwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,046 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The County High School, Leftwich, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 April 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 | 200 | 204 | 205 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.8 | 53.7 | 51.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.33 +0.13 to +0.53 | +0.60 +0.40 to +0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 64% | 61.3% | 57.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 79.4% | 75.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 91% | 91.7% | 86.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.1 |
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 The County High School, Leftwich 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 | 54.8 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.7 | 40.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.9 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,029 |
| 2023/24 | 1,035 |
| 2024/25 | 1,048 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The County High School, Leftwich compares
The County High School, Leftwich ranked 5th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.9 | 7.6% | 15.8% | 1,046 | — |
| St Nicholas Catholic High School | 50.8 | 8.2% | 14% | 1,201 | 0.9 miles |
| Hartford Church of England High School | 50.3 | 8.1% | 18.7% | 1,102 | 1.4 miles |
| The Rudheath Senior Academy | 35.7 | 12.4% | 34.6% | 576 | 1.4 miles |
| Weaverham High School | 50.6 | 8% | 19% | 1,154 | 3.3 miles |
| The Winsford Academy | 30.6 | 16.7% | 44.9% | 945 | 3.4 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)
- 15.84%
- English as an additional language
- 6.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.59%
- Persistent absence
- 18.39%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Nicholas Catholic High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
Hartford Church of England High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
The Rudheath Senior Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
Weaverham High School3.3 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
The Winsford Academy3.4 miles
Secondary · Winsford
Other schools in Northwich
The County High School, Leftwich ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Northwich.
- Hartford Church of England High School Secondary
- St Nicholas Catholic High School Secondary
- The Rudheath Senior Academy 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 ages does The County High School, Leftwich teach?
- The County High School, Leftwich teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Northwich.
- Who is the principal of The County High School, Leftwich?
- The principal of The County High School, Leftwich is Mr Richard Warburton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The County High School, Leftwich been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The County High School, Leftwich, 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 The County High School, Leftwich?
- The County High School, Leftwich has 1,046 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The County High School, Leftwich full?
- The County High School, Leftwich has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,046 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 The County High School, Leftwich a faith school?
- No. The County High School, Leftwich has no designated religious character.
- Is The County High School, Leftwich a selective school?
- No. The County High School, Leftwich is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The County High School, Leftwich part of an academy trust?
- The County High School, Leftwich is part of THE SIR JOHN BRUNNER FOUNDATION. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The County High School, Leftwich's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 54.8 in 2022/23 and 51.9 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 County High School, Leftwich compare with other schools in Cheshire West and Chester?
- The County High School, Leftwich ranked 5th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% 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 County High School, Leftwich's absence rate?
- The County High School, Leftwich's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The County High School, Leftwich's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The County High School, Leftwich'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.