Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Glen Road, Rossendale, BB4 7BJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- STAR ACADEMIES
- Headteacher
- Mr James Johnstone
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- Star Academies
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Pupils on roll
- 1,087
- URN
- 150261
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706234500
About this school
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is a secondary academy in Rossendale. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,087 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, 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
- Inadequate
- Personal development
- Inadequate
- Leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Sixth form
- Inadequate
- Safeguarding
- Not effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
This inspection took place when the school was registered as Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (URN 138835).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 174 | 175 |
| Attainment 8 score | 72.0 | 73.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.36 +0.15 to +0.58 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 96.6% | 96.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99.4% | 100% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 97.1% | 96% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 7.1 | 7.2 |
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 Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 72 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 73.3 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 1,121 |
| 2024/25 | 1,056 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School compares
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School ranked 4th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73.3 | 4.6% | 7.9% | 1,087 | — |
| The Valley Leadership Academy | 32.6 | 15.4% | 46.9% | 578 | 0.4 miles |
| Alder Grange School | 37 | 7.5% | 24.3% | 899 | 1.8 miles |
| All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy | 35.3 | 11.7% | 34.3% | 504 | 2.4 miles |
| Haslingden High School and Sixth Form | 44.2 | 7.9% | 22.4% | 1,540 | 3.0 miles |
| Whitworth Community High School | 50.3 | 5.9% | 24.4% | 654 | 3.6 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)
- 7.86%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.61%
- Persistent absence
- 7.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Valley Leadership Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Bacup
-
Alder Grange School1.8 miles
Secondary · Rossendale
-
All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · Rossendale
-
Haslingden High School and Sixth Form3.0 miles
Secondary · Rossendale
-
Whitworth Community High School3.6 miles
Secondary · Rochdale
Other schools in Rossendale
- Alder Grange School Secondary
- All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Haslingden High School and Sixth Form Secondary
- Hillside Nursery School Nursery
- Staghills Nursery School Nursery
- Crawshawbooth Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Broadway Primary School Primary
- Haslingden Primary School Primary
- Helmshore Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School Primary
- Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School teach?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Rossendale.
- Who is the headteacher of Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School?
- The headteacher of Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is Mr James Johnstone, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar 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 Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School has 1,087 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School full?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School has capacity for 1,260 pupils and 1,087 on roll (86%), 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 Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School a selective school?
- Yes. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is part of STAR ACADEMIES. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 72 in 2023/24 and 73.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School ranked 4th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School's absence rate?
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar 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.