Woodhey High School, Bury

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is an honour and a privilege to be able to welcome you to our school. Woodhey High School is an exceptional place to learn and work. We are incredibly proud of both our students and our team of staff, who work together to create exceptional opportunities, build strong relationships and support each other to achieve very well."

In 2026, pupils at Woodhey High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.2 in Bury and 47 across England.

54% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 39% in Bury and 47% in England.

That is up from 47.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.05: pupils made about 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 34.9, against 52.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Spanish.

For September 2026 entry, 276 families put Woodhey High School as their first choice and 479 named it as one of their preferences, for 226 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 55 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Woodhey High School are Tottington High School (1.6 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 38.9); The Elton High School (2.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.4); St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy (3.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.2); and Bury Church of England High School (3.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 51.5).

Woodhey High School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Woodhey High School is one of 31 schools run by The Shaw Education Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.2 in 2024/25.

336 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Woodhey High School (as of September 2025): 84% would recommend the school, 84% say their child is happy there and 63% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that the school has high expectations for their child (89%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (63%).

Of the 214 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 90% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 43% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

15.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (90%) and Mixed (6%).

Woodhey High School has a resourced provision for autism: 15 places, 11 pupils on roll.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Ramsbottom (East Lancashire Railway), about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Woodhey High School (adjacent), 60 metres away.

In 2024/25, Woodhey High School issued 210 suspensions, 19.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 2 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Woodhey High School are Hazlehurst Primary Academy (0.3 miles); Holcombe Brook Primary School (0.5 miles); Greenmount Primary School (0.6 miles); and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School Ramsbottom, a Voluntary Academy (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.