Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College, Heywood

Ofsted's report card from its 31 March 2026 inspection grades Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College on 6 areas: 6 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Expected standard. "In the main, pupils progress well through the curriculum."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have suitable systems to analyse, track and improve attendance."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have an accurate view of the quality of the curriculum."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders' passion for inclusion means that they take effective action to reduce any barriers that pupils face."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders, including those responsible for governance, care deeply about making the right decisions for their pupils."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders take a careful and considered approach to pupils' personal development."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that staff consistently provide opportunities for pupils to secure the knowledge and attributes they need to be well prepared for life in modern Britain"; "Leaders should ensure that any gaps in pupils' learning in both subject and foundational knowledge, such as handwriting, are identified and addressed swiftly, so that their knowledge builds securely over time"; "Leaders should continue their work to reduce the number of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent from school, so that these pupils fully benefit from the education provided".

From the headteacher's welcome: "Here you will find lots of useful information about the College. We are proud to be a joint faith college serving Catholic and Anglican young people here in Heywood."

In 2026, pupils at Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 51.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 44 in Rochdale and 47 across England.

63% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 41% in Rochdale and 47% in England.

That is up from 43.4 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 41.3, against 54.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.6 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 181 families put Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College as their first choice and 424 named it as one of their preferences, for 142 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 46 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College are Newhouse Academy (0.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 44); St Anne's Church of England Academy (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.3); Edgar Wood Academy (1.7 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 41.4); and Matthew Moss High School (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.9).

Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

112 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College (as of April 2026): 90% would recommend the school, 88% say their child is happy there and 62% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (92%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (62%).

Of the 149 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 83% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 44% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

12% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (79%), Black (6%) and Mixed (5%).

The nearest tram or metro stop is Heywood (East Lancashire Railway), about 1190 metres away (roughly a 15-minute walk).

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Belgrave Street (near), 320 metres away.

In 2024/25, Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College issued 154 suspensions, 20.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College are St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Rochdale, a Voluntary Academy (under 0.1 miles); Harwood Park Primary School (0.4 miles); Woodland Community Primary School (0.4 miles); and St Margaret's Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.