Walton High School
The Rise, Walton-on-the-Hill, Stafford, ST17 0LJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WALTON MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Andrew Leese
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Walton Multi-Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,289
- Pupils on roll
- 1,262
- URN
- 142987
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01785334917
About this school
Walton High School is a secondary academy in Stafford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,262 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Walton 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 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 | 211 | 207 | 214 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.6 | 48.4 | 50.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.41 -0.61 to -0.22 | -0.28 -0.48 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 43% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 73.9% | 78% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 21.7% | 19.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 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 Walton 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 | 48.6 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.4 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.6 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,312 |
| 2023/24 | 1,264 |
| 2024/25 | 1,270 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Walton High School compares
Walton High School ranked 8th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.6 | 5.8% | 8.1% | 1,262 | — |
| Stafford Manor High School | 30.6 | 11.4% | 48.1% | 439 | 1.9 miles |
| The Weston Road Academy | 44.7 | 8.2% | 20.3% | 978 | 1.9 miles |
| Blessed William Howard Catholic School | 52 | 6.3% | 22.2% | 950 | 2.4 miles |
| King Edward VI High School | 33.4 | 7.4% | 34.9% | 646 | 2.6 miles |
| Sir Graham Balfour High School | 45 | 8.8% | 21.3% | 1,003 | 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)
- 8.14%
- English as an additional language
- 5.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.78%
- Persistent absence
- 14.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stafford Manor High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
The Weston Road Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
Blessed William Howard Catholic School2.4 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
King Edward VI High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Stafford
-
Sir Graham Balfour High School3.7 miles
Secondary · Stafford
Other schools in Stafford
Walton High School ranks 2nd of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Stafford.
- Blessed William Howard Catholic School Secondary
- King Edward VI High School Secondary
- Sir Graham Balfour High School Secondary
- Stafford Manor High School Secondary
- The Weston Road Academy 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 Walton High School teach?
- Walton High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stafford.
- Who is the headteacher of Walton High School?
- The headteacher of Walton High School is Mr Andrew Leese, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Walton High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Walton 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 Walton High School?
- Walton High School has 1,262 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Walton High School full?
- Walton High School has capacity for 1,289 pupils and 1,262 on roll (98%), 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 Walton High School a faith school?
- No. Walton High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Walton High School a selective school?
- No. Walton High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Walton High School part of an academy trust?
- Walton High School is part of WALTON MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Walton High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.6 in 2022/23 and 50.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Walton High School compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- Walton High School ranked 8th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Walton High School's absence rate?
- Walton High School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Walton High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Walton 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.