Alder Grange School, Rossendale

Ofsted's report card from its 10 March 2026 inspection grades Alder Grange School on 7 areas: 6 expected standard and 1 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders' work to improve pupils' attendance is effective."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Recently, leaders have taken smart action to improve the quality of the curriculum across subjects."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders take time to identify, understand and act on barriers to learning and/or wellbeing that pupils may face."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders are taking the right steps in the right order to bring about improvement across the school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Pupils generally benefit from a well‑planned programme that promotes their personal development well."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have a secure understanding of the quality and suitability of the 16 to 19 study programmes."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Over time, pupils do not consistently achieve as well as they could."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment consistently well across the school to check pupils' learning, and that they make sensible adjustments to their teaching to close any gaps in pupils' knowledge as they emerge"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently adapt their teaching with precision to take account of pupils' starting points and their individual needs effectively"; "Leaders should ensure that the personal, social and health education curriculum is delivered with sufficient depth and coherence so that pupils develop a deep understanding of key concepts, including cultural diversity and citizenship".

In its own words: "The ethos at Alder Grange is unique. It can best be summarised by the statement: We explicitly teach our students what it means to be an Alder Granger from the moment they arrive at school in Year 7, and refer to this frequently. The ethos is primarily built upon relationships, which are warm and caring, supporting a genuine family feel."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, tennis, basketball, badminton, running, dance, drama, choir and ukulele.

In 2026, pupils at Alder Grange School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Lancashire and 47 across England.

29% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Lancashire and 47% in England.

That is up from 37 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.32: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 31.5, against 42.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Biology and Physics.

For September 2026 entry, 177 families put Alder Grange School as their first choice and 489 named it as one of their preferences, for 142 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 38 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Alder Grange School are All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy (1.2 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 42.6); Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (1.8 miles, selective, Attainment 8 75.5); The Valley Leadership Academy (2 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 34.3); and Haslingden High School and Sixth Form (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.3).

Alder Grange School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

115 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Alder Grange School (as of April 2026): 82% would recommend the school, 85% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (85%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).

Of the 139 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 34% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 35 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 40% went on to university or other higher education, 9% to apprenticeships and 37% into work. 10% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%) and Asian (9%).

In 2026, 119 pupils (13.2%) received SEN support and 59 (6.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Rawtenstall (East Lancashire Railway), about 0.7 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Alder Grange CSS (by), 90 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Alder Grange School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, Alder Grange School issued 146 suspensions, 16.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Alder Grange School are Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School (under 0.1 miles); St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall (0.4 miles); St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall (0.4 miles); and Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.