Highfields College
Highfields College is a pupil referral unit in Stockport for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 182 pupils. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2020.
Essex Road, Brinnington, Stockport, SK5 8DR0161 406 7922HighfieldsCollege.org.ukMr Matthew Grant headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 January 2020, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 20 November 2024 said: “Improved significantly”.
This inspection is more than 6 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 20 November 2024 | Ungraded | Improved significantly |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Stockport council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (182).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 182 | 164 | 145 | 99 | 69 | 72 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 66% | 63% | 65% | 66% | 61% | 51% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 64% | 78% | 67% | 54% | 78% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 36% | 22% | 33% | 46% | 22% |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 33 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 23%, compared with 29% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 24% | 50% | 45% |
| Education | 21% | 40% | 29% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 7% | 5% |
| Work | 3% | 3% | 12% |
| Not in education, work or training | 27% | 23% | 33% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 590 m | 212 | Good 2020 | 29 | Compare |
| Westmorland Primary School | Council | 800 m | 436 | Good 2023 | 58 | Compare |
| St Paul's Church of England Primary School Brinnington | Church of England | 860 m | 363 | Requires improvement 2024 | 4 | Compare |
| Arden Primary School | Council | 920 m | 472 | Good 2024 | 26 | Compare |
| Bridge House School | Independent | 940 m | 35 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Penarth Group School | Independent (grammar) | 1.0 miles | 18 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St Mary's Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.0 miles | 180 | No overall grade 2024 | 59 | Compare |
| Bredbury St. Marks CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.1 miles | 164 | Good 2024 | 20 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Highfields College a good school?
Highfields College doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in January 2020.
What is Highfields College's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Highfields College good at its last full inspection on 28 January 2020. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How many pupils does Highfields College have?
182 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Essex Road, Brinnington, Stockport, SK5 8DR
- Telephone
- 0161 406 7922
- Website
- www.HighfieldsCollege.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Matthew Grant
- Type of school
- Pupil referral unit (Pupil referral unit, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Stockport
- Ward
- Brinnington & Stockport Central
- Constituency
- Stockport
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 19 April 2004 (result of closure)
- URN
- 134623 · LAESTAB 3561103 · UKPRN 10018225
- Formerly
- The Taxal Centre, Individual Teaching and Support Service
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.