Best Schools in Heywood

How many schools are there in Heywood?

Heywood has 13 open schools: 9 state primary, 3 state secondary or all-through and 1 special.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Heywood are rated Outstanding?

3 schools in Heywood were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford; Hopwood Community Primary School; and All Souls Church of England Primary School. Counting Good as well, 73% of the 11 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, BamfordHopwood Community Primary SchoolAll Souls Church of England Primary School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Heywood get the best GCSE results?

Of the 4 schools in Heywood with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College, with an Attainment 8 score of 51.8 and 63% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Newhouse Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 44 and 41% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Edgar Wood Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 41.4 and 32% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England CollegeNewhouse AcademyEdgar Wood Academy

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Heywood have the best SATs results?

Of the 8 primary schools in Heywood with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at All Souls Church of England Primary School (87% in reading, 90% in maths); St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford (83% in reading, 83% in maths); and Hopwood Community Primary School (75% in reading, 82% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

All Souls Church of England Primary SchoolSt Michael's Church of England Primary School, BamfordHopwood Community Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Heywood?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Heywood selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Heywood have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Heywood have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, Rochdale allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Heywood?

Apply to Rochdale through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.