Culcheth High School

About Culcheth High School

Culcheth High School is a mixed state secondary for 11 to 16 year olds, located in the Warrington local authority. Among the 15 same-type schools in the area, it sits at number six by Progress 8 score, placing it just above the middle of the pack. The top-performing peers in the borough are Lymm High School, King's Leadership Academy Warrington, and Bridgewater High School, all of which post stronger academic progress scores. Culcheth's own Progress 8 score of -0.15 is notably above the Warrington average of -0.29, meaning pupils here make slightly better progress than the typical student across the LA. The school is led by headteacher Christopher Hunt and was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022, a grade it has held consistently across both its 2014 graded inspection and the 2022 ungraded visit, which confirmed it remains Good.

At GCSE level, Culcheth's Attainment 8 score sits at 48.9, and 70.6% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, with 51.1% reaching the higher grade 5 threshold. The school's EBacc average point score is 4.28, and 31.9% of students entered the EBacc combination of subjects, though only 20.4% achieved the grade 4 or above benchmark and 12.3% the grade 5 threshold. Progress 8 is rated as Average overall, with the strongest subject area being EBacc subjects at -0.08, while maths shows the weakest progress at -0.32. English and open subjects sit in between at -0.14 and -0.11 respectively. Nationally, Culcheth ranks in the bottom half of schools by Progress 8, at position 1,898 out of 3,141, but within the North West region it sits almost exactly at the median, ranked 222 out of 445.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 453 applications for 238 places, with 251 first-preference applications and 231 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.9. Facilities include science labs, a swimming pool, astro turf, music rooms, art studios, and a gymnasium, alongside a sixth form centre despite the school not having its own sixth form. Sports on offer include football, rugby, cricket, hockey, and dance, and there is a wide range of clubs from Model UN and Young Enterprise to coding and orchestra. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, autism, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities. With 18.1% of pupils eligible for free school meals, Culcheth serves a fairly typical state school demographic and suits families looking for a solid, Good-rated secondary with strong extracurricular breadth and above-average local progress.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Culcheth High School

Helpful Guides for Parents