Parrs Wood High School
Wilmslow Road, East Didsbury, Manchester, M20 5PG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- GREATER MANCHESTER EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark McElwee
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Education and Leadership Trust
- Constituency
- Manchester Withington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,854
- Pupils on roll
- 1,786
- URN
- 143260
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01614468640
About this school
Parrs Wood High School is a secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,786 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 March 2025, 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 | 299 | 288 | 296 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.3 | 47.2 | 48.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.41 to -0.08 | -0.07 -0.24 to +0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 45.5% | 47.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 66.7% | 70.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 29.9% | 42.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.1 | 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 Parrs Wood 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 | 47.3 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.2 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.1 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,923 |
| 2023/24 | 1,915 |
| 2024/25 | 1,867 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parrs Wood High School compares
Parrs Wood High School ranked 14th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.1 | 8.3% | 32.9% | 1,786 | — |
| The Barlow RC High School | 49.8 | 7.8% | 41.6% | 930 | 0.6 miles |
| Priestnall School | 52.6 | 8.5% | 14.8% | 1,312 | 1.1 miles |
| The Kingsway School | 46.5 | 8.9% | 26.5% | 1,260 | 1.4 miles |
| Burnage Academy for Boys | 46.6 | 8% | 53% | 1,021 | 1.5 miles |
| Stockport Academy | 47 | 8.2% | 39.8% | 1,023 | 1.6 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)
- 32.89%
- English as an additional language
- 39.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.26%
- Persistent absence
- 22.01%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Barlow RC High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Priestnall School1.1 miles
Secondary · Stockport
-
The Kingsway School1.4 miles
Secondary · Cheadle
-
Burnage Academy for Boys1.5 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Stockport Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Stockport
Other schools in Manchester
Parrs Wood High School ranks 22nd 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 Parrs Wood High School teach?
- Parrs Wood High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Parrs Wood High School?
- The headteacher of Parrs Wood High School is Mr Mark McElwee, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Parrs Wood High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parrs Wood 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 Parrs Wood High School?
- Parrs Wood High School has 1,786 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Parrs Wood High School full?
- Parrs Wood High School has capacity for 1,854 pupils and 1,786 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 Parrs Wood High School a faith school?
- No. Parrs Wood High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Parrs Wood High School a selective school?
- No. Parrs Wood High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Parrs Wood High School?
- Parrs Wood 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 Parrs Wood High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.3 in 2022/23 and 48.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parrs Wood High School rank locally?
- Parrs Wood High School ranked 14th of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 69% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Parrs Wood High School's absence rate?
- Parrs Wood High School's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parrs Wood High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parrs Wood 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.