Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy, Leyland

Ofsted's report card from its 6 January 2026 inspection grades Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy on 6 areas: 3 strong standard and 3 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Strong standard. "Pupils achieve very well across the curriculum."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Leaders have designed a curriculum that ensures that an ambitious breadth of knowledge is an entitlement for all pupils."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Through their actions and practices, leaders demonstrate the highest expectations for all pupils."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Pupils attend this school at far higher rates than their peers nationally."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders demonstrate a relentless ambition for all pupils to thrive."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The school places a high priority on pupils' personal development and wellbeing."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "• Leaders should reinforce their approaches to anti-bullying education, and the means for pupils to report incidents of derogatory language, in order to restore the confidence of some pupils in the school's actions. • Leaders should strengthen the mechanisms by which they analyse the impact of the school's personal development and pastoral care provision. This will better ensure that pupils who may need different approaches can benefit equally well".

In its own words: "Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy is a Christian community that delights in seeking wisdom and knowledge, building relationships and character based upon the Word of God, enabling us all to flourish bravely and faithfully."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Bishop Rawstorne has been providing high quality Christian education for nearly 65 years and it is our Christian character and ethos that are underpinned by the core values that allow us to ensure that students are able to achieve a rounded academic, spiritual, moral, social and cultural education."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include drama and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 56.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Lancashire and 47 across England.

63% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Lancashire and 47% in England.

That is down from 59.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.53: pupils made well above 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 38, against 57.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, German and Combined Science.

For September 2026 entry, 190 families put Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy as their first choice and 375 named it as one of their preferences, for 179 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 17 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy are St Mary's Catholic High School (2.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.8); Tarleton Academy (3.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.5); Academy@Worden (3.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.4); and Wellfield Academy (3.6 miles, Attainment 8 34.8).

Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy is run by its own single-school academy trust.

166 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy (as of April 2026): 79% would recommend the school, 78% say their child is happy there and 35% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that pupils behave well (87%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (35%).

Of the 195 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 89% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 73% to a further education college, 7% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

8.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 0.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 136 pupils (14.2%) received SEN support and 22 (2.3%) 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 railway station is Croston Rail Station, about 930 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Bishop Rawsthorne CE (opposite), 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 10 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Lancashire (109).

In 2024/25, Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy issued 84 suspensions, 8.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy are Trinity and St Michael's VA CofE/Methodist Primary School (0.1 miles) and Bretherton Endowed Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School (1.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.