Philips High School
similar schools
Philips High School is a converter academy in Manchester for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 868 pupils and room for 880. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 66 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2022.
Higher Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 7PH0161 351 2200philipshigh.co.ukMr C W Hibbert headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 14 June 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
172 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† | Bury | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 172 | 165 | 166 | 169 | 158 | 169 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 50.3 | 47.4 | 44.3 | 44.6 | 40.8 | 43.8 | 43.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.01 | -0.38 | -0.52 | -0.46 | -0.32 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 55% | 46% | 36% | 41% | 29% | 34% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 73% | 66% | 63% | 64% | 48% | 56% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 4.68 | 4.39 | 3.98 | 4.00 | 3.63 | 3.88 | 3.78 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 62% | 62% | 60% | 48% | 44% | 57% | 30% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 43.4 | 39.0 | 35.8 | 35.2 | 35.5 | 36.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 54.0 | 51.6 | 48.5 | 48.2 | 43.3 | 47.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 29.9 | 29.1 | 27.1 | 22.8 | 23.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 66.5 | 59.2 | 63.3 | 54.6 | 56.3 | – | – |
† These results are for Philips High School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. 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.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Music (20% here, 61% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 172 | 20% | 61% | 77% | 53% | 878 of 3,211 |
| English Literature | 172 | 29% | 64% | 80% | 58% | 971 of 3,202 |
| English Language | 172 | 28% | 63% | 77% | 54% | 767 of 3,210 |
| Combined Science | 141 | 10% | 45% | 62% | 36% | 822 of 3,084 |
| French | 100 | 29% | 74% | 86% | 60% | 580 of 1,974 |
| History | 80 | 30% | 70% | 78% | 52% | 488 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 63 | 27% | 60% | 78% | 51% | 818 of 3,116 |
| Art and Design | 48 | 31% | 67% | 92% | 58% | 1,015 of 2,818 |
| Computer Science | 35 | 37% | 74% | 86% | 56% | 398 of 1,861 |
| Physics | 31 | 45% | 90% | 94% | 82% | 1,089 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 31 | 48% | 87% | 97% | 81% | 1,249 of 2,537 |
| Biology | 31 | 42% | 90% | 94% | 82% | 1,100 of 2,570 |
| Religious Studies | 22 | 59% | 77% | 86% | 60% | 395 of 1,825 |
| Music | 20 | 0% | 20% | 30% | 61% | 364 of 395 |
| Other Modern Languages | 15 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 49% | – |
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. 1 of the 3 gaps is 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.
The last child to get a place lived 4.4 miles away in 2026, 2.8 miles away in 2024, 2.2 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 4.4 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 | 176 | 4.4 miles | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 176 | – all offered | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 176 | 2.8 miles | LA |
| 2023 Secondary | 176 | 2.2 miles | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 176 | 1.6 miles | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 176 | 2.0 miles | 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.
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.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (50), Moderate learning difficulty (24), language and communications needs (24), Autistic spectrum disorder (20), Specific learning difficulty (16), Other difficulty or disability (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 868 | 872 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 38% | 37% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 16% | 17% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 13% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.9% 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 | 8.1% | 8.2% | 7.8% | 8.0% | 3.4% | 4.8% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.7% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 2.7% | 3.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.4% | 3.0% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 0.7% | 1.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 22.7% | 25.1% | 22.3% | 26.7% | 8.5% | 10.4% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 14.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Philips High School, the school this one replaced in September 2024. 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 166 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 87%, compared with 95% for everyone else.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Heys School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 546 | Good 2024 | 9 | Compare |
| Parrenthorn High School | Academy | 1.5 miles | 1,025 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Star Radcliffe Academy | Free school | 1.6 miles | 286 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Unsworth Academy | Academy | 1.6 miles | 953 | Good 2019 | 59 | Compare |
| Manchester Mesivta School | Jewish | 1.7 miles | 233 | Requires improvement 2024 | 22 | Compare |
| St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 1,032 | No overall grade 2025 | 69 | Compare |
| The Derby High School | Academy | 2.5 miles | – | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Co-op Academy Swinton | Academy | 2.7 miles | 931 | Good 2024 | 27 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Philips High School with the 23 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 23 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 66 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 66% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 57 to 73. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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% | in line | +0.05 | 2025 results; 172 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | well below | -0.42 | Ofsted grade, 4.2 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | well above | +0.38 | Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 172 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | +0.02 | 2024/25; 908 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.19 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 172 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | +0.01 | 166 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 Philips High School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Philips High School scores 66 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 57 to 73, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Philips High School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Philips High School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 14 June 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How good are Philips High School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 55% 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 50.3, 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 Philips High School have?
868 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 880 places, so it is 99% full.
Is Philips High School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 4.4 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 Philips High School?
Pupils were in school 91.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 23% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Philips High School?
The average class had 26.2 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 31% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Philips High School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 93% 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
- Higher Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 7PH
- Telephone
- 0161 351 2200
- Website
- philipshigh.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr C W Hibbert
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Oak Learning Partnership (9 schools)
- Local authority
- Bury
- Ward
- Pilkington Park
- Constituency
- Bury South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2024 (academy converter)
- URN
- 151027 · LAESTAB 3514025 · UKPRN 10095726
- Formerly
- Philips 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.
- Admissions outcomes: Bury council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
- 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.