The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School
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The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School is a converter academy in Chester for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 1,253 pupils, 53 more than it has places for. About 17 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 80 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 78% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2019.
Vaughans Lane, Great Boughton, Chester, CH3 5XF01244 313806bishopschester.co.ukMs Helen Cairns headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 20 November 2019, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A later, shorter visit on 30 April 2025 said: “Standards maintained”.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 April 2025 | Ungraded | Standards maintained |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
193 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 | Cheshire West and Chester | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 193 | 207 | 178 | 163 | 175 | 167 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 53.8 | 48.8 | 51.9 | 49.4 | 49.4 | 43.0 | 45.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.26 | +0.42 | -0.04 | -0.05 | -0.49 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 59% | 46% | 48% | 47% | 46% | 37% | 42% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 80% | 72% | 78% | 71% | 69% | 52% | 63% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 4.67 | 4.15 | 4.37 | 4.21 | 4.24 | 3.74 | 3.98 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 18% | 19% | 17% | 13% | 21% | 16% | 40% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 41.1 | 42.0 | 44.9 | 38.5 | 41.6 | 31.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 56.2 | 50.2 | 53.2 | 52.8 | 51.0 | 47.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 31.4 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 23.3 | 20.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 66.6 | 65.4 | 70.3 | 61.7 | 58.3 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 20 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
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 | 193 | 21% | 67% | 87% | 53% | 555 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 193 | 19% | 59% | 81% | 54% | 1,039 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 192 | 17% | 62% | 81% | 58% | 1,157 of 3,202 |
| Religious Studies | 186 | 41% | 73% | 82% | 60% | 553 of 1,825 |
| Combined Science | 161 | 22% | 62% | 80% | 36% | 209 of 3,084 |
| Geography | 108 | 28% | 61% | 77% | 51% | 780 of 3,116 |
| History | 91 | 39% | 71% | 80% | 52% | 442 of 3,126 |
| Design & Technology | 44 | 23% | 50% | 66% | 50% | 686 of 1,478 |
| Physical Education | 40 | 20% | 58% | 73% | 56% | 758 of 1,559 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 38 | 21% | 74% | 87% | 52% | 179 of 1,098 |
| Physics | 31 | 52% | 90% | 97% | 82% | 1,087 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 31 | 48% | 87% | 94% | 81% | 1,249 of 2,537 |
| Biology | 31 | 52% | 90% | 97% | 82% | 1,094 of 2,570 |
| Art and Design | 29 | 21% | 66% | 86% | 58% | 1,086 of 2,818 |
| Computer Science | 26 | 23% | 58% | 77% | 56% | 819 of 1,861 |
| French | 20 | 55% | 90% | 95% | 60% | 176 of 1,974 |
| Social Studies | 19 | 42% | 79% | 84% | 54% | – |
| Spanish | 17 | 59% | 82% | 94% | 54% | – |
| Drama | 12 | 33% | 83% | 92% | 60% | – |
| Other Modern Languages | 6 | 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.
A level and sixth-form results, 2025
84 students finished sixth-form courses.
All sixth-form measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 84 | 71 | 72 | 87 | 145 | 162 |
| Average A level points per entryA level APS per entry | 30.67 | 33.69 | 35.88 | 40.06 | 29.10 | 28.43 |
| Average A level grade | C | C+ | B- | B | C | C |
| Best three A levelsBest 3 A levels APS | 32.26 | 38.61 | 39.17 | 42.02 | 31.31 | 30.75 |
| AAB or better in subjects universities likeAAB+ in two facilitating subjects | 16% | 25% | 25% | 34% | 4% | 13% |
| A level progressA level value added | -0.34 | -0.02 | – | – | -0.33 | -0.05 |
| Applied general courses: points per entry | 35.04 | 31.72 | 31.77 | 39.70 | – | – |
| Stayed and finishedRetained and assessed | 100% | 96% | 94% | 95% | 95% | 98% |
A level subjects
12 A level subjects had results in 2025. Each figure is the share of students who got an A* to B, next to the average for state sixth forms in England. When only a handful of students take a subject, its figures jump around from year to year.
Strongest A levels
Every A level subject against England, 2025
A levels only. BTECs, T levels and other courses are in the table above. Subjects with fewer than five students aren't published.
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. None of the 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
Cheshire West and Chester council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 60 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.
Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.
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 7% 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 Cheshire West and Chester council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What a home inside the catchment costs
Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, 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 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 (69), Specific learning difficulty (49), Autistic spectrum disorder (44), Moderate learning difficulty (12), language and communications needs (7), Other difficulty or disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,253 | 1,203 | 1,179 | 1,144 | 1,116 | 1,104 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 16% | 15% | 14% | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 9% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 12% | 11% | 9% | 5% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.2% 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 | 6.8% | 7.4% | 7.4% | 8.3% | 6.3% | 5.4% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.2% | 6.0% | 6.0% | 6.7% | 5.4% | 4.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 1.4% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 19.4% | 22.5% | 23.1% | 25.3% | 16.1% | 13.2% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 12.1 | 15.2 | 10.7 | 6.0 | 3.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 178 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 86%, compared with 93% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 92% | 91% | 91% | 92% |
| Education | 85% | 83% | 83% | 90% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% | 1% |
| Work | 4% | 5% | 5% | 1% |
| Not in education, work or training | 3% | 7% | 8% | 6% |
After sixth form
Where the 69 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Where the ones heading for university went
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 93% | 87% | 92% | – |
| Education | 49% | 61% | 69% | – |
| Apprenticeship | 9% | 1% | 4% | 2% |
| Work | 35% | 25% | 20% | – |
| Not in education, work or training | 6% | 11% | 7% | – |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester International School | Studio schools | 0.8 miles | 229 | Good 2022 | 5 | Compare |
| Queen's Park High School | Academy | 0.8 miles | 792 | No overall grade 2025 | 34 | Compare |
| The Catholic High School, Chester | Academy | 1.2 miles | 797 | Report card 2026 | 40 | Compare |
| Christleton High School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 1,382 | Good 2024 | 76 | Compare |
| Upton-by-Chester High School | Foundation | 2.1 miles | 1,728 | Not inspected | 69 | Compare |
| St David's High School | Council | 3.1 miles | 351 | Estyn, no grade | 22 | Compare |
| Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College | Foundation | 3.2 miles | 651 | Report card 2026 | 4 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England 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.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 80 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 80% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 75 to 85. 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% | above | +0.08 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 193 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 11% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.01 | Ofsted grade, 6.8 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | above | +0.10 | DfE progress measure; 193 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well above | +0.18 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.06 | 2024/25; 1,065 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.13 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 193 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | +0.01 | 178 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 The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School scores 80 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 78% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 75 to 85, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School good at its last full inspection on 20 November 2019. 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 The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 59% 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 53.8, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about half a grade ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School have?
1,253 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,200 places, so it is 104% full.
Is The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England 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 The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School?
Pupils were in school 93.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School?
The average class had 23.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 15% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School have a sixth form?
Yes. The average A level grade in 2025 was C. 12 A level subjects had results in 2025; the full list is in the results section.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Vaughans Lane, Great Boughton, Chester, CH3 5XF
- Telephone
- 01244 313806
- Website
- www.bishopschester.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Helen Cairns
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Chester
- Single-academy trust
- The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School (1 schools)
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Ward
- Great Boughton
- Constituency
- Chester North and Neston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2011 (academy converter)
- URN
- 136543 · LAESTAB 8964623 · UKPRN 10033287
- Formerly
- The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England 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.
- A level subjects: DfE A level and other 16 to 18 results, subject entries and grades, 2024/25.
- Catchment area: Cheshire West and Chester council open data (Open Government Licence), reprojected to WGS84.
- 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.