Sir Graham Balfour High School
North Avenue, Stafford, ST16 1NR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- INSIGHT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Mason
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Stafford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,042
- Pupils on roll
- 1,003
- URN
- 142983
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01785223490
About this school
Sir Graham Balfour High School is a secondary academy in Stafford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,003 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sir Graham Balfour 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 9 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 166 | 175 | 173 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.2 | 44.7 | 45.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 +0.06 to +0.49 | -0.17 -0.39 to +0.04 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 40% | 37.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 62.9% | 56.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 40.6% | 36.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
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 Sir Graham Balfour 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51.2 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.7 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 962 |
| 2023/24 | 970 |
| 2024/25 | 998 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sir Graham Balfour High School compares
Sir Graham Balfour High School ranked 25th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45 | 8.8% | 21.3% | 1,003 | — |
| Blessed William Howard Catholic School | 52 | 6.3% | 22.2% | 950 | 2.0 miles |
| King Edward VI High School | 33.4 | 7.4% | 34.9% | 646 | 2.3 miles |
| The Weston Road Academy | 44.7 | 8.2% | 20.3% | 978 | 2.3 miles |
| Stafford Manor High School | 30.6 | 11.4% | 48.1% | 439 | 3.0 miles |
| Walton High School | 50.6 | 5.8% | 8.1% | 1,262 | 3.7 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)
- 21.29%
- English as an additional language
- 8%
- Overall absence
- 8.83%
- Persistent absence
- 22.75%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Blessed William Howard Catholic School2.0 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
King Edward VI High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
The Weston Road Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
Stafford Manor High School3.0 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
Walton High School3.7 miles
Secondary · Stafford
Other schools in Stafford
Sir Graham Balfour High School ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Stafford.
- Blessed William Howard Catholic School Secondary
- King Edward VI High School Secondary
- Stafford Manor High School Secondary
- The Weston Road Academy Secondary
- Walton High School Secondary
- Wolgarston High School Secondary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- All Saints CofE (C) First School Primary
- All Saints CofE Primary School, Bednall Primary
- Anson CofE Primary School Primary
- Barnfields Primary School Primary
- Beaconfields Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Sir Graham Balfour High School teach?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stafford.
- Who is the headteacher of Sir Graham Balfour High School?
- The headteacher of Sir Graham Balfour High School is Mr Matthew Mason, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sir Graham Balfour High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sir Graham Balfour 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 Sir Graham Balfour High School?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School has 1,003 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Sir Graham Balfour High School full?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School has capacity for 1,042 pupils and 1,003 on roll (96%), 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 Sir Graham Balfour High School a faith school?
- No. Sir Graham Balfour High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Sir Graham Balfour High School a selective school?
- No. Sir Graham Balfour High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Sir Graham Balfour High School part of an academy trust?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School is part of INSIGHT MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sir Graham Balfour High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.2 in 2022/23 and 45 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sir Graham Balfour High School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School ranked 25th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sir Graham Balfour High School's absence rate?
- Sir Graham Balfour High School's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sir Graham Balfour High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sir Graham Balfour 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.