Parrenthorn High School
Parrenthorn High School is a converter academy in Manchester for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,025 pupils and room for 1,050. About 30 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Heywood Road, Manchester, M25 2BW0161 773 8634parrenthorn.co.ukMr Christopher Bell headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 7 March 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
198 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Parrenthorn High School, the school this one replaced.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Bury | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 198 | 204 | 194 | 171 | 161 | 166 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 44.5 | 49.2 | 48.8 | 48.7 | 42.8 | 46.5 | 43.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.21 | +0.10 | +0.02 | -0.35 | -0.26 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 40% | 51% | 49% | 44% | 34% | 39% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 60% | 71% | 68% | 67% | 62% | 63% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.92 | 4.27 | 4.28 | 4.30 | 3.68 | 4.24 | 3.78 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 33% | 32% | 37% | 41% | 57% | 67% | 30% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 36.8 | 37.4 | 43.5 | 40.9 | 36.2 | 39.0 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 47.4 | 52.5 | 51.0 | 51.8 | 45.5 | 49.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 29.7 | 30.4 | 32.7 | 23.1 | 25.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 68.7 | 68.9 | 66.0 | 55.2 | 57.8 | – | – |
† These results are for Parrenthorn High School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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.
The last child to get a place lived 1.8 miles away in 2026, 2.1 miles away in 2024, 2.6 miles away in 2023. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 1.8 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 210 | 1.8 miles | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 210 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 210 | 2.1 miles | LA |
| 2023 Secondary | 210 | 2.6 miles | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 210 | – all offered | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 210 | – all offered | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
What a home within 1.9 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
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 (42), Moderate learning difficulty (35), language and communications needs (31), Specific learning difficulty (14), Autistic spectrum disorder (12), Physical disability (6).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.5% 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 | 8.5% | 9.1% | 9.8% | 9.2% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.3% | 4.4% | 5.3% | 5.6% | 3.6% | 3.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 5.2% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 3.7% | 2.1% | 2.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 26.8% | 26.7% | 30.5% | 29.4% | 17.0% | 13.7% | 23.9% |
† These attendance figures are for Parrenthorn High School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Heys School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 546 | Good 2024 | 9 | Compare |
| Unsworth Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 953 | Good 2019 | 59 | Compare |
| St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,032 | No overall grade 2025 | 69 | Compare |
| Manchester Mesivta School | Jewish | 1.5 miles | 233 | Requires improvement 2024 | 22 | Compare |
| Philips High School | Academy | 1.5 miles | 868 | Requires improvement 2022 | 66 | Compare |
| Our Lady's RC High School | Roman Catholic | 1.9 miles | 1,046 | Report card 2025 | 84 | Compare |
| Edgar Wood Academy | Free school | 2.0 miles | 729 | Report card 2026 | 16 | Compare |
| Co-op Academy Manchester | Academy | 2.0 miles | 1,554 | Good 2023 | 23 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Parrenthorn High School a good school?
Parrenthorn High School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in March 2023.
What is Parrenthorn High School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Parrenthorn High School good at its last full inspection on 7 March 2023.
How good are Parrenthorn High School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 40% 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 44.5, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Parrenthorn High School have?
1,025 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,050 places, so it is 98% full.
Is Parrenthorn High School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 1.8 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Parrenthorn High School?
Pupils were in school 91.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Parrenthorn High School?
The average class had 23.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 9% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Parrenthorn High School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Heywood Road, Manchester, M25 2BW
- Telephone
- 0161 773 8634
- Website
- www.parrenthorn.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Christopher Bell
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Vision Multi Academy Trust (5 schools)
- Local authority
- Bury
- Ward
- Holyrood
- Constituency
- Bury South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2025 (academy converter)
- URN
- 151969 · LAESTAB 3514022 · UKPRN 10098570
- Formerly
- Parrenthorn High School
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, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Bury council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- 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.