Rayner Stephens High School
Yew Tree Lane, Dukinfield, SK16 5BL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- STAMFORD PARK TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Davies
- Sponsor
- Stamford Park Trust
- Constituency
- Stalybridge and Hyde
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 831
- Pupils on roll
- 635
- URN
- 148430
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01613382374
About this school
Rayner Stephens High School is a secondary academy in Dukinfield. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 635 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Rayner Stephens 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 108 | 124 | 142 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.0 | 34.1 | 35.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.86 -1.14 to -0.58 | -1.03 -1.29 to -0.77 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 25% | 29.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 42% | 44.4% | 46.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 31% | 12.9% | 15.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
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 Rayner Stephens 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 | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 34 | 42.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.1 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 35.6 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 16.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 537 |
| 2023/24 | 580 |
| 2024/25 | 628 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rayner Stephens High School compares
Rayner Stephens High School ranked 13th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35.6 | 13.1% | 49.8% | 635 | — |
| All Saints Catholic College | 37.5 | 9.1% | 40.6% | 810 | 0.3 miles |
| Hyde High School | — | — | — | 1,134 | 0.8 miles |
| West Hill School | 43.5 | 6.5% | 29.5% | 852 | 1.2 miles |
| Dixons Pennine Academy | 35.8 | 10.4% | 45% | 592 | 1.8 miles |
| Alder Community High School | 46.6 | 10.6% | 38.4% | 912 | 2.0 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report21 April 2026
- 26 September 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 49.84%
- English as an additional language
- 20.5%
- Overall absence
- 13.09%
- Persistent absence
- 36.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
All Saints Catholic College0.3 miles
Secondary · Dukinfield
-
Hyde High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Hyde
-
West Hill School1.2 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
Dixons Pennine Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
Alder Community High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Hyde
Other schools in Dukinfield
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- Broadbent Fold Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Lyndhurst Primary School Primary
- Ravensfield Primary School Primary
- St John's CofE Primary School, Dukinfield Primary
- St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- Yew Tree Primary School Primary
- Cromwell High School Academies
- Oakdale School Academies
- Stansfield House Special schools
- Tameside Alternative Provision Academy Academies
Common questions
- What ages does Rayner Stephens High School teach?
- Rayner Stephens High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Dukinfield.
- Who is the headteacher of Rayner Stephens High School?
- The headteacher of Rayner Stephens High School is Mr Martin Davies, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Rayner Stephens High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rayner Stephens 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 Rayner Stephens High School?
- Rayner Stephens High School has 635 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Rayner Stephens High School full?
- Rayner Stephens High School has capacity for 831 pupils and 635 on roll (76%), 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 Rayner Stephens High School a faith school?
- No. Rayner Stephens High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Rayner Stephens High School part of an academy trust?
- Rayner Stephens High School is part of STAMFORD PARK TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rayner Stephens High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34 in 2022/23 and 35.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rayner Stephens High School compare with other schools in Tameside?
- Rayner Stephens High School ranked 13th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rayner Stephens High School's absence rate?
- Rayner Stephens High School's overall absence rate is 13.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rayner Stephens High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rayner Stephens 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 15 July 2026.