Pleckgate High School
Pleckgate Road, Blackburn, BB1 8QA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs A McGinty
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Education Partnership Trust
- Constituency
- Blackburn
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,339
- URN
- 142088
- Local authority
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01254249134
About this school
Pleckgate High School is a secondary academy in Blackburn. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,339 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 248 | 259 | 274 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 | 44.0 | 49.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 +0.10 to +0.47 | -0.01 -0.19 to +0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 43.2% | 47.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 62.2% | 71.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 49.4% | 44.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
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 Pleckgate 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 | Blackburn with Darwen average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48 | 43.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 43.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.2 | 44.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,335 |
| 2023/24 | 1,350 |
| 2024/25 | 1,354 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Pleckgate High School compares
Pleckgate High School ranked 4th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% 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 | 49.2 | 7.5% | 25.4% | 1,339 | — |
| Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School | 47 | 8% | 20.8% | 873 | 1.1 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School | 72.3 | 3% | 14% | 866 | 1.4 miles |
| St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy | 50.8 | 7.1% | 23.8% | 1,483 | 1.8 miles |
| Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | 62.5 | 2.5% | 17.3% | 746 | 1.8 miles |
| Witton Park Academy | 40.3 | 9.2% | 39.5% | 1,243 | 2.0 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
- 5 June 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report30 March 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.41%
- English as an additional language
- 24%
- Overall absence
- 7.51%
- Persistent absence
- 22.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School1.1 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
-
Witton Park Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Blackburn
Other schools in Blackburn
Pleckgate High School ranks 4th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Blackburn.
- Blackburn Central High School Secondary
- Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Secondary
- St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn Secondary
- St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy Secondary
- Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Secondary
- Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School Secondary
- The Hyndburn Academy Secondary
- Witton Park Academy Secondary
- Ashworth Nursery School Nursery
- Brunel Nursery School Nursery
- Longshaw Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Pleckgate High School teach?
- Pleckgate High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Blackburn.
- Who is the headteacher of Pleckgate High School?
- The headteacher of Pleckgate High School is Mrs A McGinty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Pleckgate High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pleckgate 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 Pleckgate High School?
- Pleckgate High School has 1,339 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Pleckgate High School full?
- Pleckgate High School has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,339 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 Pleckgate High School a faith school?
- No. Pleckgate High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Pleckgate High School a selective school?
- No. Pleckgate High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Pleckgate High School?
- Pleckgate High School is part of EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Pleckgate High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48 in 2022/23 and 49.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Pleckgate High School rank locally?
- Pleckgate High School ranked 4th of 12 secondary schools in Blackburn with Darwen for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% 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 Pleckgate High School's absence rate?
- Pleckgate High School's overall absence rate is 7.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pleckgate High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pleckgate 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 2 July 2026.