Sir Graham Balfour High School, Stafford

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, basketball, badminton, orchestra, film and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at Sir Graham Balfour High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.7 in Staffordshire and 47 across England.

40% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 39% in Staffordshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 45.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.17: 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 25.2, against 50 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 24.8 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 186 families put Sir Graham Balfour High School as their first choice and 340 named it as one of their preferences, for 185 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 10 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Sir Graham Balfour High School are Blessed William Howard Catholic School (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 55.1); King Edward VI High School (2.3 miles, Attainment 8 39.9); The Weston Road Academy (2.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.1); and Stafford Manor High School (3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 35.3).

Sir Graham Balfour High School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Sir Graham Balfour High School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

184 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Sir Graham Balfour High School (as of September 2025): 73% would recommend the school, 79% say their child is happy there and 46% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (79%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (46%).

Of the 175 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 66% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 35 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 51% went on to university or other higher education, 9% to apprenticeships and 34% into work. 15% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

8.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Stafford Rail Station, about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Shopping Precinct (adjacent), 160 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Sir Graham Balfour 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 2024/25, Sir Graham Balfour High School issued 166 suspensions, 16.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Sir Graham Balfour High School are Parkside Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Tillington Manor Primary School (0.5 miles), Beaconfields Primary School (0.6 miles) and St Patrick's Catholic Primary School (0.9 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.