School Chooser

Windlehurst School

Special · ages 11-16MixedCouncil65 pupilsStockport
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, March 2022
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance53.3%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families69%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull65 pupils, 60 places
Pupils per teacher5.0School workforce census

Windlehurst School is a council special school in Stockport for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 65 pupils, 5 more than it has places for. About 69 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Windlehurst Road, Hawk Green, Marple, Stockport, SK6 7HZ0161 427 4788windlehurst.stockport.sch.ukHeadteacher Christopher Ormiston headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 1 March 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

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

10 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score6.9
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.13In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 2.72.720182019: 4.64.620192022: 12.012.020222023: 4.74.720232024: 4.74.720242025: 6.96.92025
Since 2018: +4.2
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018StockportEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 111010118817
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 86.94.74.712.04.62.747.346.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.13-2.19-1.56-1.99-3.02
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%47%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%9%13%0%0%66%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.750.450.421.420.330.224.234.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%46%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged4.6
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers3.46.310.94.8

Subjects

Results came out for 2 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.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics80%0%25%53%
English Language80%0%0%54%

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.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

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 Stockport council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll65Census January 2026
Places60108% full
Pupils from low-income families69%69% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%65 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)63%£46,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls62 / 3
White British pupils89%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

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 Stockport with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (51), Moderate learning difficulty (6), language and communications needs (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Other difficulty or disability (1), Severe learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll655451474848
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals69%69%73%77%73%71%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2%2%0%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 53.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance53.3%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school83.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils42.62024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission20.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence46.7%40.2%36.5%31.3%32.1%29.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence26.2%21.6%26.2%20.2%25.6%19.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence20.5%18.6%10.3%11.1%6.5%10.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence83.9%78.9%77.6%67.4%77.6%70.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate42.645.166.033.343.8
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training27%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training27%75%64%40%
Education27%75%55%30%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%9%10%
Not in education, work or training27%13%9%60%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers13.0full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher5.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£54,238
Teachers who left in the year14%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher5.12024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£30,181England £32,258. Total £1.6m
Income per pupil£29,933England £32,367. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£16,595England £11,930
Money in reserve3%Very little put by: £44k, £819 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£13kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£30,181spent per pupil

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

Local crime rate0 per 1,000 people100% lower than the England average
Typical house price£305,000Stockport
Nearest bus stop40 mWindlehurst School, 8 stops within 500 m

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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
All Saints Church of England Primary School MarpleChurch of England0.8 miles207Good 202376Compare
Acorns SchoolIndependent0.9 miles33Not inspectedCompare
High Lane Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles164Good 2023Compare
Rose Hill Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles538Good 202243Compare
Brookside Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles130Report card 202615Compare
Mellor Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles231Report card 202671Compare
Torkington Primary SchoolCouncil1.6 miles233Good 202395Compare
Hague Bar Primary SchoolAcademy1.6 miles50Good 202328Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Windlehurst School a good school?

Windlehurst School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in March 2022.

What is Windlehurst School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Windlehurst School good at its last full inspection on 1 March 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 Windlehurst School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% 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 6.9, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Windlehurst School have?

65 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 60 places, so it is 108% full.

What is attendance like at Windlehurst School?

Pupils were in school 53.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 84% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Windlehurst School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Windlehurst Road, Hawk Green, Marple, Stockport, SK6 7HZ
Telephone
0161 427 4788
Website
www.windlehurst.stockport.sch.uk
Headteacher
Headteacher Christopher Ormiston
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Stockport
Ward
Marple South & High Lane
Constituency
Hazel Grove
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2000
URN
131889 · LAESTAB 3567511 · UKPRN 10015723

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from