The County High School, Leftwich
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The County High School, Leftwich is a converter academy in Northwich for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,046 pupils and room for 1,050. About 16 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 86% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in June 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Granville Road, Northwich, CW9 8EZ01606 333300leftwichhigh.comMr Richard Warburton principalAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 2 June 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 27 April 2022 | Ungraded | School remains Outstanding |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
205 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 | 205 | 204 | 200 | 198 | 195 | 190 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 51.9 | 53.7 | 54.8 | 56.8 | 59.2 | 51.7 | 45.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.60 | +0.33 | +0.54 | +0.80 | +0.33 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 58% | 61% | 64% | 69% | 73% | 53% | 42% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 76% | 79% | 85% | 82% | 88% | 76% | 63% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 5.05 | 5.27 | 5.30 | 5.53 | 5.64 | 4.95 | 3.98 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 86% | 92% | 91% | 89% | 93% | 89% | 40% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 30.1 | 31.2 | 36.3 | 42.8 | 53.0 | 43.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 56.5 | 58.5 | 57.6 | 60.7 | 60.0 | 53.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 30.5 | 28.9 | 36.2 | 32.1 | 28.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 75.3 | 67.6 | 72.5 | 68.4 | 65.7 | – | – |
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
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Drama (30% here, 60% 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 | 205 | 39% | 63% | 82% | 53% | 733 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 204 | 22% | 55% | 73% | 54% | 1,356 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 199 | 31% | 68% | 77% | 58% | 747 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 159 | 22% | 56% | 74% | 36% | 338 of 3,084 |
| History | 104 | 40% | 66% | 76% | 52% | 628 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 101 | 25% | 66% | 74% | 51% | 575 of 3,116 |
| French | 96 | 18% | 58% | 69% | 60% | 1,143 of 1,974 |
| Spanish | 79 | 14% | 49% | 65% | 54% | 1,175 of 1,941 |
| Art and Design | 63 | 18% | 78% | 92% | 58% | 552 of 2,818 |
| Religious Studies | 42 | 31% | 60% | 69% | 60% | 1,006 of 1,825 |
| Biology | 41 | 61% | 90% | 95% | 82% | 1,104 of 2,570 |
| Physics | 40 | 73% | 95% | 95% | 82% | 789 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 40 | 65% | 90% | 95% | 81% | 1,087 of 2,537 |
| Physical Education | 37 | 49% | 89% | 97% | 56% | 129 of 1,559 |
| Design & Technology | 33 | 24% | 39% | 61% | 50% | 935 of 1,478 |
| Music | 28 | 39% | 79% | 79% | 61% | 150 of 395 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 25 | 28% | 64% | 68% | 52% | 321 of 1,098 |
| Drama | 23 | 4% | 30% | 44% | 60% | 763 of 844 |
| Computer Science | 18 | 67% | 83% | 94% | 56% | – |
| 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.
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.
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 42 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 3% 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 (85), language and communications needs (42), Specific learning difficulty (31), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Physical disability (5), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (4).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,046 | 1,048 | 1,035 | 1,029 | 1,015 | 997 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 16% | 15% | 14% | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 7% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 10% | 10% | 8% | 8% | 7% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.4% 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 | 7.6% | 7.7% | 7.9% | 9.0% | 5.4% | 4.8% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.5% | 6.1% | 6.4% | 7.7% | 4.6% | 3.5% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 1.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 18.4% | 19.9% | 19.7% | 24.2% | 13.6% | 11.3% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 15.7 | 16.8 | 15.7 | 10.0 | 11.4 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 200 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 85%, compared with 94% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 93% | 95% | 95% | 96% |
| Education | 90% | 86% | 91% | 92% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 5% | 2% | 1% |
| Work | 2% | 4% | 2% | 3% |
| Not in education, work or training | 7% | 5% | 5% | 3% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Nicholas Catholic High School | Roman Catholic | 0.9 miles | 1,201 | Good 2024 | 62 | Compare |
| Hartford Church of England High School | Church of England | 1.4 miles | 1,102 | Good 2023 | 54 | Compare |
| The Rudheath Senior Academy | Academy | 1.4 miles | 576 | Good 2023 | 20 | Compare |
| Weaverham High School | Academy | 3.3 miles | 1,154 | Report card 2026 | 66 | Compare |
| The Winsford Academy | Academy | 3.4 miles | 945 | No overall grade 2025 | 1 | Compare |
| Middlewich High School | Academy | 4.3 miles | 665 | Good 2022 | 47 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The County High School, Leftwich 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 | +0.13 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 205 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | in line | +0.04 | Ofsted report card, 0.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | above | +0.20 | DfE progress measure; 205 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.03 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.05 | 2024/25; 1,082 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.17 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 205 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | in line | +0.02 | 200 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 County High School, Leftwich a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. The County High School, Leftwich scores 80 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 86% 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 County High School, Leftwich's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 2 June 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as strong.
How good are The County High School, Leftwich's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 58% 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 51.9, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The County High School, Leftwich have?
1,046 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,050 places, so it is 100% full.
Is The County High School, Leftwich 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 County High School, Leftwich?
Pupils were in school 92.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The County High School, Leftwich?
The average class had 24.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 19% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does The County High School, Leftwich 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
- Granville Road, Northwich, CW9 8EZ
- Telephone
- 01606 333300
- Website
- www.leftwichhigh.com
- Principal
- Mr Richard Warburton
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Sir John Brunner Foundation (4 schools)
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Ward
- Northwich Leftwich
- Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2012 (academy converter)
- URN
- 138743 · LAESTAB 8964134 · UKPRN 10038674
- Formerly
- The County High School Leftwich
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.
- 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.