Kingsway Park High School

About Kingsway Park High School

Kingsway Park High School sits in the Rochdale local authority, a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 with no sixth form. It is a state-funded mixed school with a non-religious character, led by headteacher Simon Ward. The school is large, with 1,320 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,330, and a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 47.9 per cent. In the local authority, Kingsway Park ranks 11th out of 11 secondary schools on Progress 8, placing it at the bottom of the Rochdale league table. The top-performing peers in the area are Hollingworth Academy, Matthew Moss High School, and Falinge Park High School, all of which have Progress 8 scores close to the national average. Kingsway Park’s ranking in the North West region is 335th out of 445 schools, and nationally it sits in the bottom 50 per cent of all secondary schools, at the 82nd percentile.

Academically, the school’s Progress 8 score is -0.49, which is well below the local authority average of -0.25 and is classified as ‘Below average’. The Attainment 8 score is 34.1, and the percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs is 18.1 per cent, with 38.1 per cent achieving a grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score is 2.93, and only 6.8 per cent of pupils entered the EBacc and achieved a grade 5 or above. In its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, the school was rated Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection, when the school was rated Requires improvement. The ungraded inspection that followed noted that some aspects were not as strong, but the overall effectiveness rating remained Good.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including a library, art studios, gymnasium, ICT suite, science labs, music rooms, and a sports hall. Sports on offer include cricket, tennis, martial arts, badminton, rugby, and basketball, and there are numerous clubs such as chess, art club, Duke of Edinburgh, eco club, Model UN, debate, orchestra, Young Enterprise, and film club. SEND provisions cover a broad spectrum, including support for specific learning difficulties, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language difficulties, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder. For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school was oversubscribed, receiving 586 applications for 256 places, with 222 first-preference offers made from 223 first-preference applications. Parent View responses, based on 11 respondents, show that only 18 per cent would recommend the school, with significant disagreement on questions around behaviour, bullying, and communication. This school may suit families who value its broad curriculum and extensive extracurricular offer, but who are aware of the challenges reflected in its academic outcomes and parent feedback.

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