Warrington’s best secondary schools 2025
Trying to find the right school for your child in Warrington? You’re in the right place.
With so many options, many parents find themselves drowning in league tables and Ofsted reports. That’s exactly why we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Our expert team has analysed the latest 2023/2024 Department for Education data to bring you a list of the top-performing state secondary schools in Warrington.
We show two ranking tables, one for Progress 8 and one for GCSE 9–7 results, and also provide a complete list of all secondary schools in Warrington. This full list includes Progress 8 scores, GCSE 9–7 percentages, and Ofsted ratings where available. The schools in this table are ordered alphabetically rather than ranked, so you can easily see every school in one place, even if some data points are missing.
Top secondary schools in Warrington by Progress 8
Lowton Church of England High School is currently ranked #1 in Warrington based on its published Progress 8 score of +1.06. Progress 8 is a headline accountability measure used by the Department for Education to show how much progress pupils make between the end of primary school and their GCSEs, compared to students with similar prior attainment nationally.
Rank | School name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lowton Church of England High School | Foundation school | Mixed | +1.06 | Good | 17.22% |
2 | Padgate Academy | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | +1.02 | Good | 8.98% |
3 | Fox Wood Special School | Community special school | Mixed | +0.8 | Good | - |
4 | Cardinal Newman Catholic High School | Voluntary aided school | Mixed | +0.3 | Good | 12.15% |
5 | Penketh High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.14 | Good | 18.62% |
6 | Bridgewater High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.1 | Good | 29.08% |
7 | Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.16 | Good | 12.91% |
8 | Birchwood Community High School | Academy converter | Mixed | -0.48 | - | 16.49% |
9 | Birchwood School | Other independent special school | Mixed | -0.73 | - | - |
10 | King's Leadership Academy Warrington | Free schools | Mixed | -2.19 | Outstanding | 27.37% |
Note: Rankings use 2023/2024 CSP data for state-funded schools and may not reflect recent changes, check school websites for the latest information.
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Top secondary schools in Warrington by GCSE % 9–7
Bridgewater High School is currently ranked #1 in Warrington based on the percentage of GCSE grades awarded at 9–7. This measure highlights how many pupils achieve the very top exam results, giving a clear picture of each school’s academic excellence.
Rank | School name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bridgewater High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.1 | Good | 29.08% |
2 | King's Leadership Academy Warrington | Free schools | Mixed | -2.19 | Outstanding | 27.37% |
3 | St Gregory's Catholic High School | Voluntary aided school | Mixed | - | Good | 25.09% |
4 | Culcheth High School | Community school | Mixed | - | Good | 22.24% |
5 | Great Sankey High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 20.72% |
6 | Penketh High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.14 | Good | 18.62% |
7 | Golborne High School | Foundation school | Mixed | - | Outstanding | 18.52% |
8 | Beamont Collegiate Academy | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | - | Good | 17.56% |
9 | Lowton Church of England High School | Foundation school | Mixed | +1.06 | Good | 17.22% |
10 | Birchwood Community High School | Academy converter | Mixed | -0.48 | - | 16.49% |
11 | Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.16 | Good | 12.91% |
12 | Cardinal Newman Catholic High School | Voluntary aided school | Mixed | +0.3 | Good | 12.15% |
13 | Padgate Academy | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | +1.02 | Good | 8.98% |
14 | UTC Warrington | University technical college | Mixed | - | - | 4.71% |
15 | Chaigeley School | Non-maintained special school | Mixed | - | Good | 0% |
16 | Woolston Brook School | Community special school | Mixed | - | - | 0% |
Note: Rankings use 2023/2024 CSP data for state-funded schools and may not reflect recent changes, check school websites for the latest information.
All secondary schools in Warrington
Below is the complete list of secondary schools in Warrington, including both state-funded and independent schools where data is available. This table provides an at-a-glance view of each school’s key performance metrics, including Progress 8 scores, the percentage of GCSE grades awarded at 9–7, and Ofsted ratings, where published.
School name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beamont Collegiate Academy | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | - | Good | 17.56% |
Birchwood Community High School | Academy converter | Mixed | -0.48 | - | 16.49% |
Birchwood School | Other independent special school | Mixed | -0.73 | - | - |
Bridgewater High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.1 | Good | 29.08% |
Cardinal Newman Catholic High School | Voluntary aided school | Mixed | +0.3 | Good | 12.15% |
Chaigeley School | Non-maintained special school | Mixed | - | Good | 0% |
Culcheth High School | Community school | Mixed | - | Good | 22.24% |
Fox Wood Special School | Community special school | Mixed | +0.8 | Good | - |
Golborne High School | Foundation school | Mixed | - | Outstanding | 18.52% |
Great Sankey High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 20.72% |
Green Lane Community Special School | Community special school | Mixed | - | Outstanding | - |
Green Meadow Independent Primary School | Other independent school | Mixed | - | - | - |
King's Leadership Academy Warrington | Free schools | Mixed | -2.19 | Outstanding | 27.37% |
Lowton Church of England High School | Foundation school | Mixed | +1.06 | Good | 17.22% |
Padgate Academy | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | +1.02 | Good | 8.98% |
Penketh High School | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.14 | Good | 18.62% |
Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.16 | Good | 12.91% |
St Gregory's Catholic High School | Voluntary aided school | Mixed | - | Good | 25.09% |
UTC Warrington | University technical college | Mixed | - | - | 4.71% |
Woolston Brook School | Community special school | Mixed | - | - | 0% |
Disclaimer
All data on this page is sourced from the Department for Education’s 2023/2024 Compare School Performance dataset. It includes state-funded and, where available, independent secondary schools. Some schools may be missing data for Progress 8 scores, GCSE 9–7 results, or Ofsted ratings due to unpublished or unavailable figures. Rankings are based only on schools with published data and may not reflect recent changes. Please check school websites for the latest information.How we ranked the best schools in Warrington?
Why trust our rankings? Our analysis is based on the latest 2023/2024 data from the Department for Education’s Compare School Performance (CSP) database, which publishes official performance data for all secondary schools in England, including both state-funded and independent schools where available.
We’ve created separate tables to highlight top performers in three key areas:
- Progress 8 (pupil progress from KS2 to GCSE)
- GCSE 9–7 grades (academic excellence)
- Overall school listings, with available Ofsted ratings
Schools are primarily ranked by their Progress 8 score. This clever metric doesn’t just reward schools with high-attaining intakes – it highlights the ones that genuinely support student growth by measuring progress from the end of primary school to GCSEs. It adjusts for prior attainment, making it one of the fairest ways to compare schools.
Where available, we also show the percentage of GCSE grades at 9–7 to reflect high academic achievement, and Ofsted ratings for added context. All figures come directly from CSP’s official dataset.
Where Progress 8 data is not available for any schools in Warrington, the corresponding table will not be shown. This simply means that no schools in this area had published Progress 8 scores at the time of the latest dataset, it does not reflect on the quality of the schools themselves.
How to support your child at home
Helping your child succeed at school doesn’t just happen in the classroom, the right support at home can make a big difference. Encourage a regular study routine, provide a quiet space for learning, and take an interest in what they’re covering in lessons. Even small actions, like checking in on homework or discussing what they learned that day, can build motivation and accountability.
If you’re looking for extra structure, our GCSE Revision Resources are designed to make studying easier. With expert-written notes, topic-by-topic exam questions, and mark schemes, your child can practise exactly what they need to know, when they need to know it.
Boosting confidence before exams
Confidence can make a huge difference to exam performance. Start by helping your child identify their strengths and weaknesses, then focus revision time on areas that need improvement. Practising under timed conditions can reduce exam-day nerves, while celebrating small wins along the way builds self-belief.
Our GCSE Exam Practice pages include hundreds of past-paper style questions and worked solutions, so students can walk into their exams knowing exactly what to expect. By building familiarity with the question styles and formats, they’ll feel prepared and ready to perform at their best.
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