Haslingden High School and Sixth Form

About Haslingden High School and Sixth Form

Haslingden High School and Sixth Form holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained consistently across its most recent inspections, including the ungraded visit in 2022 which confirmed the school remains Good. The most telling academic metric for the main school is its Progress 8 score of -0.13, which places pupils’ progress slightly below the national average. That score is also a fraction below the Lancashire local authority average of -0.11, meaning the school is broadly in line with other secondary schools in the area. In the Rossendale district, Haslingden ranks 3rd out of 6 schools on Progress 8, putting it in the top half locally. Nationally, it sits in the 58th percentile, so while it is not among the highest-performing schools in the country, it is comfortably in the middle of the pack. The Attainment 8 score of 44.6 gives a sense of the average grade profile, and 66.4 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths.

At Key Stage 5, the sixth form offers a more mixed picture. The value added score is -0.18, which Ofsted bands as below average, and the average points per entry is 31.06, equivalent to a C grade. Only 4.8 per cent of A-level entries were graded AAB or higher, which is low compared with selective or high-performing comprehensives. However, the school’s Progress 8 banding is officially rated as Average, and the confidence interval for the score ranges from -0.30 to 0.05, meaning the true figure could be closer to zero. The EBacc entry rate is low at 13.6 per cent, and only 5.3 per cent of pupils entered the full EBacc combination of subjects. For families focused on academic outcomes, the data suggests a solid but not outstanding school, where most pupils achieve broadly expected progress.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 272 places in 2025/26, there were 685 applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.52, and 234 offers went to first-preference applicants out of 266 who put the school top. That level of demand suggests strong local reputation. Facilities are extensive and include a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, music rooms, and a dedicated sixth form centre. The school supports a wide range of SEND needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language difficulties, and physical disabilities. Clubs and activities cover drama, debate, coding, Model UN, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, while sports on offer include rowing, martial arts, and rugby. Haslingden is a large school with 1,552 pupils against a capacity of 1,498, so it is operating above its official capacity. It suits families who want a well-equipped, popular community secondary with a broad curriculum and a sixth form, and who are comfortable with a school that performs around the local average academically.

Key Details

Frequently Asked Questions About Haslingden High School and Sixth Form

Helpful Guides for Parents