Bridgewater High School

About Bridgewater High School

Bridgewater High School is a large secondary in Warrington that is comfortably oversubscribed, a clear signal of its local reputation. With 1,674 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,560, the school is operating above its official limit, and for the 2025/26 intake it received 593 applications for 333 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.78. Of those, 295 offers went to first-preference families, meaning demand is strong but not impossibly competitive. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 13.3%, which is below the national average for secondary schools (around 23%) and suggests a relatively affluent catchment. The school is non-denominational, mixed, and serves ages 11 to 16, with no sixth form or nursery provision. Headteacher Keiron Powell leads a school that, in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, was rated Good across all categories, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. This represents a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2011, but the school remains one of the stronger options in Warrington.

Academically, Bridgewater performs well above the local authority average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.2 is rated as ‘Above average’ nationally, and compares very favourably with the Warrington LA average of -0.29. In the local rankings, it sits third out of 13 schools, placing it in the top quarter of the borough. The Attainment 8 score of 53.5 is solid, and 80.7% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, with 60.8% reaching the higher grade 5 threshold. The EBacc average point score of 4.64 is respectable, though only 24.7% of pupils entered the full EBacc suite, and 20.3% achieved it at grade 4 or above. Progress in English is notably strong at 0.35, while maths progress is essentially flat at -0.01. Nationally, the school ranks 1,079th out of 3,141 schools by Progress 8, placing it in the top third of all state secondaries.

The school offers a broad range of facilities, including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, and a gymnasium, alongside specialist science labs and music rooms. Sports provision covers netball, hockey, rowing, and cricket, among others, and there is a good selection of clubs including coding, Model UN, and debate. SEND support is extensive, with provisions for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional needs, speech and language issues, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. The school does not have a sixth form, so families will need to plan for post-16 options elsewhere; the nearest Outstanding-rated provider is Priestley College, two kilometres away. Bridgewater suits families who want a large, well-regarded comprehensive with strong academic outcomes, good facilities, and a clear track record of progress, particularly in English, but who are comfortable with the school being oversubscribed and operating above capacity.

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