Whalley Range 11-18 High School
Wilbraham Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, M16 8GW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Trust
- GREATER MANCHESTER EDUCATION TRUST
- Academy Headteacher
- Mr Michael Lea
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Education and Leadership Trust
- Constituency
- Manchester Rusholme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,712
- URN
- 141264
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01618619727
About this school
Whalley Range 11-18 High School is a girls' secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,712 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. 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 28 April 2022, 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 | 266 | 264 | 260 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.0 | 51.9 | 52.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.36 +0.19 to +0.54 | +0.79 +0.61 to +0.97 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 49.6% | 46.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 70.1% | 69.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 64% | 66.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
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 Whalley Range 11-18 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 | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.9 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.1 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,667 |
| 2023/24 | 1,662 |
| 2024/25 | 1,647 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whalley Range 11-18 High School compares
Whalley Range 11-18 High School ranked 7th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester 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 24% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.1 | 7.1% | 56.4% | 1,712 | — |
| CHS South | 48.3 | 6.6% | 52.9% | 1,177 | 0.6 miles |
| Chorlton High School | 54 | 7.6% | 30.7% | 1,532 | 0.8 miles |
| Loreto High School Chorlton | 46.6 | 9.3% | 55.6% | 742 | 0.9 miles |
| Didsbury High School | 57.1 | 8.2% | 40.4% | 1,220 | 0.9 miles |
| Manchester Academy | 45.4 | 7.8% | 57.2% | 1,025 | 1.2 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)
- 56.36%
- English as an additional language
- 78.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.12%
- Persistent absence
- 19.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
CHS South0.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Chorlton High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Loreto High School Chorlton0.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Didsbury High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Manchester Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
Whalley Range 11-18 High School ranks 11th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Whalley Range 11-18 High School teach?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the academy headteacher of Whalley Range 11-18 High School?
- The academy headteacher of Whalley Range 11-18 High School is Mr Michael Lea, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Whalley Range 11-18 High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whalley Range 11-18 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 big is Whalley Range 11-18 High School?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School has 1,712 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Whalley Range 11-18 High School full?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,712 on roll (104%), 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 Whalley Range 11-18 High School a faith school?
- No. Whalley Range 11-18 High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Whalley Range 11-18 High School a selective school?
- No. Whalley Range 11-18 High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Whalley Range 11-18 High School?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School is part of GREATER MANCHESTER EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Whalley Range 11-18 High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50 in 2022/23 and 52.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Whalley Range 11-18 High School rank locally?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School ranked 7th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester 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 24% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Whalley Range 11-18 High School's absence rate?
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School's overall absence rate is 7.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Whalley Range 11-18 High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Whalley Range 11-18 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.