West Craven High School
Kelbrook Road, Barnoldswick, BB18 5TB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PENDLE EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr John Bates
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Pendle Education Trust
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 845
- Pupils on roll
- 528
- URN
- 142856
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282812292
About this school
West Craven High School is a secondary academy in Barnoldswick. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 528 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected West Craven 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 127 | 126 | 140 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.4 | 33.7 | 37.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.76 -1.01 to -0.50 | -0.99 -1.25 to -0.73 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 24% | 27.8% | 33.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 47.6% | 52.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 18.3% | 15.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
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 West Craven 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 | 34.4 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 33.7 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.4 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 678 |
| 2023/24 | 613 |
| 2024/25 | 591 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How West Craven High School compares
West Craven High School ranked 69th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 | 37.4 | 12.6% | 28.6% | 528 | — |
| Colne Park High School | 38 | 10.5% | 31.4% | 989 | 3.5 miles |
| Colne Primet Academy | 35.4 | 13.2% | 37.9% | 805 | 4.4 miles |
| Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School | 44.1 | 10.3% | 32.3% | 812 | 4.6 miles |
| Pendle Vale College | 42.5 | 8.2% | 34.4% | 1,046 | 4.8 miles |
| Marsden Heights Community College | 40.3 | 7.9% | 33.5% | 1,047 | 6.1 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)
- 28.6%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- Overall absence
- 12.58%
- Persistent absence
- 39.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Colne Park High School3.5 miles
Secondary · Colne
-
Colne Primet Academy4.4 miles
Secondary · Colne
-
Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School4.6 miles
Secondary · Colne
-
Pendle Vale College4.8 miles
Secondary · Nelson
-
Marsden Heights Community College6.1 miles
Secondary · Nelson
Other schools in Barnoldswick
- Barnoldswick Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Coates Lane Primary School Primary
- Earby Springfield Primary School Primary
- Gisburn Road Community Primary School Primary
- Kelbrook Primary School Primary
- Salterforth Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does West Craven High School teach?
- West Craven High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Barnoldswick.
- Who is the headteacher of West Craven High School?
- The headteacher of West Craven High School is Mr John Bates, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has West Craven High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected West Craven 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 West Craven High School?
- West Craven High School has 528 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is West Craven High School full?
- West Craven High School has capacity for 845 pupils and 528 on roll (62%), 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 West Craven High School a faith school?
- No. West Craven High School has no designated religious character.
- Is West Craven High School a selective school?
- No. West Craven High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is West Craven High School part of an academy trust?
- West Craven High School is part of PENDLE EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have West Craven High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.4 in 2022/23 and 37.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does West Craven High School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- West Craven High School ranked 69th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 West Craven High School's absence rate?
- West Craven High School's overall absence rate is 12.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are West Craven High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, West Craven 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.