Bury Church of England High School
Haslam Brow, Bury, BL9 0TS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE BISHOP FRASER TRUST
- Headteacher
- Dr Suzanne Wrigley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Sponsor
- The Bishop Fraser Trust
- Constituency
- Bury North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 810
- Pupils on roll
- 802
- URN
- 148866
- Local authority
- Bury
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617976236
About this school
Bury Church of England High School is a Church of England secondary academy in Bury. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 802 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong 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 | 175 | 161 | 165 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.6 | 46.0 | 49.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.21 -0.42 to 0.00 | -0.31 -0.54 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 50.9% | 52.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 72% | 73.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 42% | 32.3% | 41.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
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 Bury Church of England 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 | Bury average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.6 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 829 |
| 2023/24 | 842 |
| 2024/25 | 827 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bury Church of England High School compares
Bury Church of England High School ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.1 | 8.4% | 22% | 802 | — |
| St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy | 46 | 8.5% | 24.7% | 1,027 | 0.3 miles |
| The Derby High School | — | — | — | — | 0.3 miles |
| Hazel Wood High School | 35.7 | 10.4% | 55.6% | 671 | 1.3 miles |
| The Elton High School | 44.3 | 7.9% | 22.2% | 1,017 | 1.4 miles |
| Star Radcliffe Academy | — | 7% | 45.6% | 286 | 1.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 22.01%
- English as an additional language
- 7.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.4%
- Persistent absence
- 20.79%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy0.3 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
The Derby High School0.3 miles
Secondary · Lancs
-
Hazel Wood High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
The Elton High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bury
-
Star Radcliffe Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Radcliffe
Other schools in Bury
Bury Church of England High School ranks 1st of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Bury.
- Hazel Wood High School Secondary
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- The Elton High School Secondary
- Tottington High School Secondary
- Unsworth Academy Secondary
- Woodhey High School Secondary
- Hoyle Nursery School Nursery
- Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Primary
- Chantlers Primary School Primary
- Chesham Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- East Ward Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bury Church of England High School teach?
- Bury Church of England High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bury.
- Who is the headteacher of Bury Church of England High School?
- The headteacher of Bury Church of England High School is Dr Suzanne Wrigley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bury Church of England High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bury Church of England 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 Bury Church of England High School?
- Bury Church of England High School has 802 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Bury Church of England High School full?
- Bury Church of England High School has capacity for 810 pupils and 802 on roll (99%), 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 Bury Church of England High School a faith school?
- Yes. Bury Church of England High School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Is Bury Church of England High School a selective school?
- No. Bury Church of England High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bury Church of England High School?
- Bury Church of England High School is part of THE BISHOP FRASER TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bury Church of England High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.6 in 2022/23 and 49.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bury Church of England High School rank locally?
- Bury Church of England High School ranked 3rd of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bury Church of England High School's absence rate?
- Bury Church of England High School's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bury Church of England High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bury Church of England 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.