Chester International School
Queens Park Campus, Queens Park Road, Handbridge, Chester, CH4 7AE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Studio schools
- Ages
- 14 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Tom Kearns
- Sponsor
- Christleton Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Chester South and Eddisbury
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 320
- Pupils on roll
- 229
- URN
- 144742
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01244735610
About this school
Chester International School is a secondary school in Chester. It teaches children aged 14 to 19 and has 229 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 81 | 84 | 77 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.4 | 34.9 | 34.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.65 -1.03 to -0.28 | -1.20 -1.54 to -0.87 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 27.4% | 23.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 38.1% | 42.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 75% | 42.9% | 49.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.2 | 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 Chester International 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 | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 40.4 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.9 | 40.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34.5 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 17.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 15.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 253 |
| 2023/24 | 281 |
| 2024/25 | 258 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Chester International School compares
Chester International School ranked 18th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34.5 | 15.5% | 33.1% | 229 | — |
| Queen's Park High School | 44.2 | 9.2% | 29.3% | 792 | 0.1 miles |
| The Catholic High School, Chester | 46.7 | 9.1% | 21.5% | 797 | 0.7 miles |
| The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School | 53.8 | 6.8% | 17.4% | 1,253 | 0.8 miles |
| Upton-by-Chester High School | 48.8 | 6.5% | 17.2% | 1,728 | 2.0 miles |
| Christleton High School | 54.8 | 6.5% | 11.5% | 1,382 | 2.1 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)
- 33.12%
- English as an additional language
- 13.6%
- Overall absence
- 15.51%
- Persistent absence
- 51.45%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queen's Park High School0.1 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
The Catholic High School, Chester0.7 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
Upton-by-Chester High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
Christleton High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Chester
Other schools in Chester
Chester International School ranks 6th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Chester.
- Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College Secondary
- Christleton High School Secondary
- Queen's Park High School Secondary
- The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School Secondary
- The Catholic High School, Chester Secondary
- Upton-by-Chester High School Secondary
- Acresfield Academy Primary
- Ashton Hayes Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Belgrave Primary School Primary
- Boughton Heath Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Chester International School teach?
- Chester International School teaches children aged 14 to 19. It is a secondary school in Chester.
- Who is the headteacher of Chester International School?
- The headteacher of Chester International School is Mr Tom Kearns, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Chester International School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Chester International 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 Chester International School?
- Chester International School has 229 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 14 to 19.
- Is Chester International School full?
- Chester International School has capacity for 320 pupils and 229 on roll (72%), 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 Chester International School a faith school?
- No. Chester International School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Chester International School?
- Chester International School is part of THE LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Chester International School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.4 in 2022/23 and 34.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Chester International School rank locally?
- Chester International School ranked 18th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 2% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Chester International School's absence rate?
- Chester International School's overall absence rate is 15.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Chester International School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Chester International 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 10 July 2026.