Burnley College

About Burnley College

Burnley College is a state-funded secondary school for students aged 16 to 99, serving the Burnley area in Lancashire. With a school capacity of 600, it is currently oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, receiving 607 applications for 120 places — an oversubscription ratio of over five to one. Of those, 130 were first-preference applications, and 111 first-preference offers were made, indicating strong local demand. The school’s percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 39%, which is notably high compared with the national average for secondary schools, suggesting it serves a community with above-average levels of economic disadvantage. This intake profile is an important factor for parents to consider when evaluating the school’s outcomes, as it provides context for its academic performance and the challenges its students may face.

Academically, Burnley College’s most recent Progress 8 score is -0.16, placing it in the ‘Average’ band nationally. This is slightly below the Lancashire local authority average of -0.11, meaning students here make somewhat less progress than their peers across the wider area. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 42.1, and 55.9% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though this drops to 38.2% at grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.89, with 45.1% of pupils entering the EBacc suite of subjects. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was rated Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. An ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. Compared with its top local peers — Preston Muslim Girls High School, Eden Boys’ School, Preston, and Holy Cross Catholic High School — Burnley College’s Progress 8 score is lower, but it ranks 1st out of 5 schools in Burnley itself.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a swimming pool, art studios, tennis courts, sports hall, astro turf, gymnasium, music rooms, a sixth form centre, library, ICT suite, science labs, and a chapel. Sports provision covers cricket, netball, martial arts, dance, hockey, swimming, tennis, football, and rugby, while clubs include chess, Young Enterprise, art club, science club, Model UN, and debate. SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. This makes the school well-suited to families seeking a large, inclusive setting with strong local demand and a broad extracurricular offer, particularly for post-16 students given its age range. The oversubscription ratio suggests securing a place requires a first-preference application.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Burnley College

Helpful Guides for Parents