Marsden Heights Community College
Edge End Lane, Nelson, BB9 0PR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Delve
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Pendle and Clitheroe
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,047
- URN
- 146276
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01282683060
About this school
Marsden Heights Community College is a secondary academy in Nelson. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,047 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Marsden Heights Community College, 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 205 | 210 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 40.1 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.10 -0.11 to +0.31 | +0.14 -0.07 to +0.35 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 34.1% | 33.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 57.6% | 53.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 18.5% | 15.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 Marsden Heights Community College 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 | 41.5 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.1 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,046 |
| 2023/24 | 1,037 |
| 2024/25 | 1,048 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Marsden Heights Community College compares
Marsden Heights Community College ranked 59th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 7.9% | 33.5% | 1,047 | — |
| Pendle Vale College | 42.5 | 8.2% | 34.4% | 1,046 | 1.6 miles |
| Sir John Thursby Community College | 41 | 8.4% | 39.6% | 1,121 | 1.6 miles |
| Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School | 44.1 | 10.3% | 32.3% | 812 | 1.9 miles |
| Colne Primet Academy | 35.4 | 13.2% | 37.9% | 805 | 2.1 miles |
| Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy | 37.6 | 10.2% | 35.8% | 1,261 | 2.3 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)
- 33.49%
- English as an additional language
- 90.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.94%
- Persistent absence
- 21.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pendle Vale College1.6 miles
Secondary · Nelson
-
Sir John Thursby Community College1.6 miles
Secondary · Burnley
-
Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Colne
-
Colne Primet Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Colne
-
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Burnley
Other schools in Nelson
- Pendle Vale College Secondary
- Bradley Nursery School Nursery
- McMillan Nursery School Nursery
- Walton Lane Nursery School Nursery
- Woodfield Nursery School Nursery
- Barrowford School Primary
- Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blacko Primary School Primary
- Bradley Primary School Primary
- Castercliff Primary School Primary
- Great Marsden St John's Primary School A Church of England Academy Primary
- Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School, Nelson Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Marsden Heights Community College teach?
- Marsden Heights Community College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Nelson.
- Who is the headteacher of Marsden Heights Community College?
- The headteacher of Marsden Heights Community College is Mr James Delve, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Marsden Heights Community College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Marsden Heights Community College, 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 Marsden Heights Community College?
- Marsden Heights Community College has 1,047 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Marsden Heights Community College full?
- Marsden Heights Community College has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,047 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Marsden Heights Community College a faith school?
- No. Marsden Heights Community College has no designated religious character.
- Is Marsden Heights Community College a selective school?
- No. Marsden Heights Community College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Marsden Heights Community College part of an academy trust?
- Marsden Heights Community College is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Marsden Heights Community College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Marsden Heights Community College compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Marsden Heights Community College ranked 59th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Marsden Heights Community College's absence rate?
- Marsden Heights Community College's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Marsden Heights Community College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Marsden Heights Community College'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.