The Radclyffe School

About The Radclyffe School

The Radclyffe School is a mixed, non-denominational secondary in Oldham serving pupils from 11 to 16, and it is clearly a popular choice locally. For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school received 526 applications for 291 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.81 applicants per place. Of those, 200 were first-preference applications, and all 200 received offers. That level of demand suggests a strong reputation among families in the area. The school has capacity for 291 pupils, and while the data doesn't give a specific free school meals percentage, the local authority context shows Oldham's secondary schools serve a diverse range of intakes. The Radclyffe School sits in the middle of the pack locally, ranking 6th out of 12 Oldham secondaries on Progress 8, and 185th out of 445 in the North West region. Nationally, it falls in the 53rd percentile, placing it squarely in the average band.

Academically, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2024 rated it Good across all five categories, including behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. This is a clear improvement from its previous inspection in October 2021, when it was rated Requires Improvement overall. In the 2023/24 exam results, pupils achieved a Progress 8 score of -0.06, which is slightly below the national average of zero but above the Oldham local authority average of -0.13. Attainment 8 came in at 44.2, and 64.8% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, though the more demanding grade 5 threshold drops that figure to 43.3%. The EBacc average point score was 3.6, with only 12.3% of pupils entering the EBacc suite of subjects. Progress in English was a positive 0.09, while maths was close to average at -0.03, and the open element of the Progress 8 measure was 0.02.

The school offers a solid range of facilities, including a swimming pool, astro turf, sports hall, and playing fields, with sports on offer such as rowing, rugby, netball, and martial arts. There is also a good selection of clubs covering drama, orchestra, chess, coding, and a newspaper group. For families with children who have special educational needs, the school lists provisions for a wide spectrum, including dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is oversubscribed, so families should be prepared to apply early and list it as a first preference. It suits families looking for a large, inclusive secondary that has improved its Ofsted rating and performs around the local average academically, with strong sporting and extracurricular opportunities.

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