Matthew Moss High School
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Matthew Moss High School is a converter academy in Rochdale for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,198 pupils and room for 1,200. About 44 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 32 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 32% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Matthew Moss Lane, Marland, Rochdale, OL11 3LU01706 632910mmhs.co.ukMs Charlotte Leach-Rogers headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 25 April 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
254 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019† | 2018† | Rochdale | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 254 | 236 | 221 | 158 | 151 | 147 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 39.4 | 41.8 | 41.5 | 47.7 | 43.2 | 42.9 | 42.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.03 | -0.15 | +0.27 | +0.14 | +0.29 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 34% | 37% | 38% | 49% | 36% | 37% | 36% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 53% | 52% | 54% | 69% | 64% | 57% | 58% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.37 | 3.77 | 3.82 | 4.44 | 4.09 | 3.80 | 3.59 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 26% | 45% | 51% | 80% | 66% | 27% | 31% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 34.9 | 36.7 | 36.7 | 43.9 | 43.2 | 40.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 42.8 | 44.5 | 44.7 | 50.3 | 43.3 | 45.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 26.6 | 26.0 | 32.4 | 23.3 | 22.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 64.4 | 63.8 | 72.1 | 59.5 | 66.7 | – | – |
† These results are for Matthew Moss High School, the school this one replaced in November 2019. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 15 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Physics (48% here, 82% across England), Art and Design (27% here, 58% across England), Chemistry (51% here, 81% across England), History (25% here, 52% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 251 | 9% | 42% | 63% | 58% | 2,579 of 3,202 |
| English Language | 251 | 11% | 41% | 60% | 54% | 2,489 of 3,210 |
| Mathematics | 250 | 10% | 41% | 61% | 53% | 2,373 of 3,211 |
| Combined Science | 166 | 5% | 24% | 40% | 36% | 2,365 of 3,084 |
| History | 137 | 7% | 25% | 35% | 52% | 2,949 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 100 | 11% | 27% | 40% | 51% | 2,736 of 3,116 |
| Religious Studies | 100 | 14% | 51% | 63% | 60% | 1,313 of 1,825 |
| Art and Design | 84 | 6% | 27% | 48% | 58% | 2,572 of 2,818 |
| Chemistry | 83 | 13% | 51% | 71% | 81% | 2,325 of 2,537 |
| Biology | 83 | 18% | 55% | 70% | 82% | 2,317 of 2,570 |
| Physics | 83 | 16% | 48% | 69% | 82% | 2,399 of 2,546 |
| Media / Film / TV | 72 | 14% | 53% | 67% | 55% | 309 of 580 |
| Spanish | 64 | 19% | 31% | 48% | 54% | 1,669 of 1,941 |
| Social Studies | 51 | 10% | 39% | 63% | 54% | 813 of 1,043 |
| Computer Science | 33 | 0% | 33% | 55% | 56% | 1,522 of 1,861 |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 3 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have grown by 9% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
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 Rochdale council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 12 pupils, for hearing impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Rochdale with hearing impairment provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (50), Autistic spectrum disorder (40), Specific learning difficulty (28), language and communications needs (26), Moderate learning difficulty (25), Hearing impairment (18).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,198 | 1,221 | 1,208 | 1,206 | 1,125 | 1,063 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 44% | 41% | 37% | 36% | 35% | 32% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 49% | 47% | 45% | 45% | 45% | 47% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 13% | 13% | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 5% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.4% | 9.6% | 9.5% | 10.0% | 6.5% | 5.4% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.2% | 4.8% | 4.0% | 4.6% | 3.4% | 1.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 4.2% | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5.4% | 3.0% | 3.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 24.4% | 29.5% | 30.2% | 32.5% | 19.9% | 12.7% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 24.0 | 32.4 | 28.0 | 14.8 | 9.3 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 5 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 3 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Matthew Moss High School, the school this one replaced in November 2019. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 221 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 86%, compared with 89% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 88% | 94% | 97% | 94% |
| Education | 86% | 89% | 96% | 89% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 3% | 1% | 2% |
| Work | – | 2% | 1% | 3% |
| Not in education, work or training | 11% | 5% | 2% | 4% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary 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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oulder Hill Leadership Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 1,152 | No overall grade 2025 | 66 | Compare |
| Newhouse Academy | Academy | 1.8 miles | 974 | Requires improvement 2023 | 12 | Compare |
| Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College | Roman Catholic/Church of England | 1.8 miles | 768 | Report card 2026 | 34 | Compare |
| Falinge Park High School | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,344 | Good 2023 | 21 | Compare |
| Kingsway Park High School | Academy | 2.1 miles | 1,289 | Not inspected | 12 | Compare |
| St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 2.2 miles | 1,023 | Requires improvement 2022 | 2 | Compare |
| St Anne's Church of England Academy | Academy | 2.5 miles | 817 | Good 2024 | 29 | Compare |
| Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School | Roman Catholic | 2.6 miles | 1,186 | Good 2022 | 42 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Matthew Moss High School with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Matthew Moss High School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oulder Hill Leadership Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 1,152 | No overall grade 2025 | 66 | Compare |
| E-ACT the Oldham Academy North | Academy | 3.9 miles | 1,258 | Not inspected | 79 | Compare |
| Essa Academy | Academy | 11.0 miles | 1,055 | Report card 2026 | 83 | Compare |
| William Hulme's Grammar School | Academy | 11.1 miles | 1,542 | Not inspected | 82 | Compare |
| Ladybridge High School | Council | 12.0 miles | 1,136 | Good 2022 | 39 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 32 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 32% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 24 to 42. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | below | -0.13 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 254 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 2.4 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | in line | -0.01 | DfE progress measure; 254 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | below | -0.09 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | 0.00 | 2024/25; 1,273 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | below | -0.04 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 254 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | below | -0.03 | 221 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Matthew Moss High School a good school?
The figures are weak. Matthew Moss High School scores 32 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 32% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 24 to 42, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.
What is Matthew Moss High School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Matthew Moss High School good at its last full inspection on 25 April 2024.
How good are Matthew Moss High School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 34% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 39.4, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about level with children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Matthew Moss High School have?
1,198 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,200 places, so it is 100% full.
Is Matthew Moss High School oversubscribed?
Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.
What is attendance like at Matthew Moss High School?
Pupils were in school 91.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Matthew Moss High School?
The average class had 23.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 5% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Matthew Moss High School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for hearing impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Matthew Moss High School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 88% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Matthew Moss Lane, Marland, Rochdale, OL11 3LU
- Telephone
- 01706 632910
- Website
- www.mmhs.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Charlotte Leach-Rogers
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Watergrove Trust (9 schools)
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Ward
- Castleton
- Constituency
- Heywood and Middleton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 November 2019 (academy converter)
- URN
- 147369 · LAESTAB 3544088 · UKPRN 10084718
- Formerly
- Matthew Moss High School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 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.