Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College, Chester

Ofsted's report card from its 12 May 2026 inspection grades Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College on 6 areas: 2 expected standard and 4 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 view improving attendance as a priority."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The personal development programme spans all aspects of school life."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "The curriculum is ordered logically to build on prior skills and knowledge."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "Leaders' actions to reduce pupils' barriers to learning are inconsistent."

Leadership and governance - Needs attention. "Leaders understand the school's strengths and areas for improvement."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the adaptations that are put in place to reduce any barriers to learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are effective so that these pupils can access the curriculum successfully"; "Leaders should further develop their strategies to close gaps in pupils' writing and spelling so that pupils secure the important building blocks that they need for future learning"; "Leaders should ensure that improvements to teaching, including the checks made on what pupils know and remember, are embedded across all subjects and lead to positive trends in pupils' achievement"; "Leaders should continue to implement their strategy to reduce absence so that the number of pupils who attend school regularly continues to rise"; "Leaders should ensure that any aspect of provision that falls below the expected standard is dealt with quickly and effectively so that pupils benefit from a high-quality education".

In its own words: "It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Blacon High School. I am proud and privileged to be the Headteacher of this vibrant community where every student can flourish and achieve their dreams. Blacon is more than a school. It is a place where great things happen each and every day."

On phones, the school says: "Mobile Phones Policy The use of mobile phones is not allowed at any time anywhere within the school building."

In 2026, pupils at Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 30.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.3 in Cheshire West and Chester and 47 across England.

20% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Cheshire West and Chester and 47% in England.

That is down from 33.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.63: pupils made well 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 23.6, against 37.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 74 families put Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College as their first choice and 98 named it as one of their preferences, for 78 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College are St David's High School (1.8 miles); Chester International School (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.5); Queen's Park High School (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.6); and The Catholic High School, Chester (2.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College.

Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College is run by its own single-school academy trust.

Of the 127 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 60% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 48% to a further education college, 6% to an apprenticeship and 9% into work.

48.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 7.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 162 pupils (24.9%) received SEN support and 40 (6.1%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Bache Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.

13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Onslow Road (opposite), 110 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 123 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and other theft. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cheshire West and Chester (71), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College issued 177 suspensions, 25.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 7 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College are J H Godwin Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Dee Point Primary School (0.5 miles), The Arches Community Primary School (0.5 miles) and Highfield Community Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.