Weaverham High School, Northwich

Ofsted's report card from its 24 March 2026 inspection grades Weaverham High School on 6 areas: 2 strong standard and 4 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Inclusion - Strong standard. "A commitment to inclusion lies at the heart of leaders' work."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders have carefully designed a personal development programme that prepares pupils for a rapidly changing world."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Generally, pupils achieve well."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Attendance across the school has been close to average for the past 2 years."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders understand the quality of the curriculum and teaching."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders and those responsible for governance share a clear understanding of the school's context."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to improve professional learning for staff to ensure that the school curriculum is consistently taught well"; "Leaders should further develop the ways that teachers check pupils' understanding during lessons so they can make changes to teaching that remove barriers to the achievement of all pupils and especially those with low prior attainment"; "Leaders should embed recent improvements to the management of attendance to further increase the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and others who face barriers to regular attendance".

In 2026, pupils at Weaverham High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 53.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.3 in Cheshire West and Chester and 47 across England.

59% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Cheshire West and Chester and 47% in England.

That is up from 50.6 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.17: pupils made 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 41.5, against 56.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 28 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Art and Design and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 224 families put Weaverham High School as their first choice and 461 named it as one of their preferences, for 225 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 9 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Weaverham High School are Hartford Church of England High School (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.7); St Nicholas Catholic High School (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.7); The County High School, Leftwich (3.3 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 50.1); and The Rudheath Senior Academy (4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 32.2).

Weaverham High School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Weaverham High School is one of 5 schools run by Sandstone Trust, an academy trust.

198 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Weaverham High School (as of April 2026): 88% would recommend the school, 85% say their child is happy there and 53% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (53%).

Of the 237 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 29% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

1.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 76 pupils (6.6%) received SEN support and 64 (5.5%) 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 Acton Bridge Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is High School (outside), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 21 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cheshire West and Chester (71).

In 2024/25, Weaverham High School issued 68 suspensions, 5.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Weaverham High School are Weaverham Forest Primary School (0.1 miles); Weaverham Primary Academy (0.5 miles); St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Weaverham (0.8 miles); and Little Leigh Primary School (1.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.