Moorside High School, Stoke-on-Trent

From the headteacher's welcome: "Situated in the heart of Werrington, we are a successful and vibrant school with a vision to ensure students not only aspire to but also have the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to be the very best they can be. We are very proud of our school and community."

On phones, the school says: "If a student is caught with a phone during the school day, it will be confiscated, and the student will be sanction in line with policy."

In 2026, pupils at Moorside High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.7 in Staffordshire and 47 across England.

42% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 39% in Staffordshire and 47% in England.

That is down from 45.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.2: 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 37.7, against 44.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and German.

For September 2026 entry, 158 families put Moorside High School as their first choice and 265 named it as one of their preferences, for 164 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 4 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Moorside High School are Discovery Academy (2.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 33.5); Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams (3.3 miles); Birches Head Academy (3.4 miles, Inadequate, Attainment 8 33); and Endon High School (3.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53).

Moorside High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Moorside High School is one of 4 schools run by Potteries Educational Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 139 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 81% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 54% to a further education college, 10% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

1.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 113 pupils (14.8%) received SEN support and 20 (2.6%) 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 Cheddleton (Churnet Valley Railway), about 3.2 miles away in a straight line.

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Moorside High School (opposite), 150 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Moorside High School 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 19 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, other crime and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Staffordshire (86).

In 2024/25, Moorside High School issued 231 suspensions, 30.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Moorside High School are Werrington Primary School (1 mile) and St John's CofE Primary School (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.