Rivington and Blackrod High School

About Rivington and Blackrod High School

Rivington and Blackrod High School is a Church of England secondary school in Chorley that is clearly in demand. For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school received 531 applications for 287 places, an oversubscription ratio of 1.85, with 281 of those applications coming from first-preference families. Of those, 259 received offers. The school currently has 1,584 pupils on roll against a capacity of 1,888, so there is some headroom, but the sheer volume of applications tells you it is a popular choice locally. A quarter of its pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is significantly above the national average for secondary schools and suggests a genuinely mixed intake in terms of socio-economic background. The school is mixed gender, takes pupils from age 11 through to 18, and has a formal sixth form. It sits within the Bolton local authority, not Chorley, which is worth noting when comparing it to other schools in the area.

Academically, the school has made a clear improvement in recent years. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, it was rated Good across the board, including for behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and sixth form provision. That is a notable step up from its previous inspection in 2020, when it was rated Requires Improvement overall. At Key Stage 4, pupils achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.1, which is above the Bolton local authority average of 0.07 and places the school in the top half nationally. Attainment 8 sits at 48.4, and 72.6% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. The EBacc entry rate is relatively low at 21.1%, and the EBacc average point score is 4.07. At A-level, the school’s value added score is 0.02, which is in line with expectations, and the average grade per entry is a C+. The school ranks 4th out of 6 schools in Chorley by Progress 8, and 9th out of 22 in the wider Bolton authority.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including science labs, a sports hall, an astro turf pitch, a swimming pool, music rooms, and a chapel. There is a strong set of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. Clubs include debate, coding, eco club, Model UN, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, while sports on offer include tennis, netball, cricket, gymnastics, and martial arts. This is a school that suits families looking for a large, inclusive, Church of England secondary with a good Ofsted rating and academic results that are slightly above the local average, particularly for those who value a broad range of extracurricular activities and strong SEND support. The oversubscription means applying as a first preference is wise.

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