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State secondary schools in Lancashire

81 schools · North West · 2024/25 Department for Education figures

Lancashire has 81 state secondaries, 14 of them with sixth forms, 4 grammar schools among them. 87.1% of families got their first choice last year, better than most of England. Results run from 18.8% to 98.8% passing English and maths, a spread of 80 points, with a middle school at 41.1%, below England's 45.4%.

Of those Ofsted has graded, 7 rated Outstanding, 36 Good, 15 Requires improvement, 2 Inadequate. 21 schools carry no overall grade at all — either inspected since Ofsted stopped issuing one in September 2024, or never inspected.

Blackpool
81 schools in Lancashire. Tap one, or see the full list. Blackpool is a separate council, marked on the map.
19% 99% passed English & maths

Lancashire against England

State-funded schools, 2024/25

44%

Passed English & maths grade 5 or above

1.9% below England

England 45%

45.1

Attainment 8 average score

in line with England

England 46.1

19%

Persistently absent missed 10% of sessions

2% below England

England 21%

Getting a place

2026/27 secondary admissions round, across Lancashire

87.1%

Got their first choiceof those who applied

England 84%

97.2%

Got one of their threefirst, second or third

0.3%

Got no offer at allfrom any preference

25%

Appeals upheld166 of 667 heard

These are figures for Lancashire as a whole. A popular school can be much harder to get into than the average suggests, and the criteria that decide it are set by each school's own admission authority rather than centrally. How applying works

How much the choice matters here

Across Lancashire's 81 schools, the share passing English and maths runs from 19% to 99%. That is a spread of 80 percentage points, wider than most councils.

The typical council spans about 48 points. Where schools are close together the school a child gets matters less; where they are far apart it matters a great deal. The widest spreads are all selective areas, where grammar schools sit at one end and everything else at the other.

Lancashire schools, subject by subject

The share reaching grade 4 or above, among schools entering at least 20 pupils. Which pupils take a subject differs a lot between schools, so read this as what happened rather than as a ranking of teaching.

mathsenglish literatureenglish languagegeographyhistorycombined sciencebiologyphysicschemistryartreligious studiesdesign technologyspanishcomputer sciencefrenchphysical educationfood technologybusiness studies
  1. 1 Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Rossendale · 175 entries 100%
  2. 2 Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancaster · 170 entries 100%
  3. 3 Lancaster Girls' Grammar School Lancaster · 141 entries 99%
  4. 4 Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Clitheroe · 149 entries 98%
  5. 5 Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy Leyland · 190 entries 92%
  6. 6 St Michael's Church of England High School Chorley · 225 entries 90%
  7. 7 Maharishi Free School Ormskirk · 20 entries 90%
  8. 8 All Hallows Catholic High School Preston · 184 entries 89%
  9. 9 Archbishop Temple Church of England High School Preston · 153 entries 86%
  10. 10 Broughton High School Preston · 182 entries 86%
  11. 11 Balshaw's Church of England High School Leyland · 188 entries 85%
  12. 12 Holy Cross Catholic High School Chorley · 188 entries 85%
  13. 13 Preston Muslim Girls High School Preston · 118 entries 83%
  14. 14 St Bede's Catholic High School Ormskirk · 141 entries 83%
  15. 15 Our Lady's Catholic High School Preston · 177 entries 82%
  16. 16 Hutton Church of England Grammar School Preston · 145 entries 81%
  17. 17 Whitworth Community High School ROCHDALE · 123 entries 80%
  18. 18 Millfield Science & Performing Arts College Thornton-Cleveleys · 162 entries 80%
  19. 19 Hodgson Academy Poulton-Le-Fylde · 219 entries 79%
  20. 20 St Bede's Catholic High School, Lytham Lytham St Annes · 161 entries 79%
  21. 21 Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy Lancaster · 271 entries 79%
  22. 22 Up Holland High School Wigan · 161 entries 78%
  23. 23 Penwortham Girls' High School Preston · 159 entries 78%
  24. 24 Lostock Hall Academy Preston · 158 entries 78%
  25. 25 Saint Aidan's Church of England High School Poulton-le-Fylde · 164 entries 77%
  26. 26 Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School Accrington · 199 entries 77%
  27. 27 Lytham St Annes High School Lytham St. Annes · 297 entries 77%
  28. 28 Longridge High School Preston · 154 entries 77%
  29. 29 Academy@Worden Leyland · 105 entries 76%
  30. 30 Burscough Priory Academy Ormskirk · 128 entries 75%
  31. 31 Eden Boys' School, Preston Preston · 124 entries 74%
  32. 32 Our Lady's Catholic College Lancaster · 148 entries 74%
  33. 33 St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Clitheroe · 211 entries 73%
  34. 34 Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School Colne · 159 entries 73%
  35. 35 Bowland High Clitheroe · 107 entries 73%
  36. 36 Tarleton Academy Preston · 128 entries 73%
  37. 37 St Mary's Catholic High School Leyland · 157 entries 73%
  38. 38 Corpus Christi Catholic High School Preston · 156 entries 72%
  39. 39 Baines School Poulton-le-Fylde · 167 entries 71%
  40. 40 Parklands High School Chorley · 209 entries 70%
  41. 41 Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School, Hyndburn Accrington · 155 entries 70%
  42. 42 Cardinal Allen Catholic High School, Fleetwood Fleetwood · 148 entries 70%
  43. 43 Penwortham Priory Academy Preston · 155 entries 69%
  44. 44 Ribblesdale School Clitheroe · 281 entries 68%
  45. 45 Haslingden High School and Sixth Form Rossendale · 262 entries 68%
  46. 46 Southlands High School Chorley · 196 entries 67%
  47. 47 Ashton Community Science College Preston · 175 entries 67%
  48. 48 Brownedge St Mary's Catholic High School Preston · 144 entries 67%
  49. 49 The Hollins Accrington · 151 entries 66%
  50. 50 Lathom High School : A Technology College Skelmersdale · 139 entries 66%
  51. 51 St Cecilia's RC High School Preston · 112 entries 66%
  52. 52 Albany Academy Chorley · 140 entries 66%
  53. 53 Garstang Community Academy Preston · 153 entries 65%
  54. 54 Carr Hill High School Preston · 155 entries 65%
  55. 55 Ormskirk School Ormskirk · 207 entries 64%
  56. 56 Christ The King Catholic High School Preston · 78 entries 62%
  57. 57 Bay Leadership Academy Morecambe · 127 entries 61%
  58. 58 Wellfield Academy Leyland · 60 entries 60%
  59. 59 Sir John Thursby Community College Burnley · 214 entries 59%
  60. 60 Colne Park High School Colne · 208 entries 59%
  61. 61 Alder Grange School Rossendale · 138 entries 59%
  62. 62 Pendle Vale College Nelson · 204 entries 58%
  63. 63 Unity College Burnley · 272 entries 57%
  64. 64 Shuttleworth College Burnley · 211 entries 56%
  65. 65 Lancaster High School Lancaster · 94 entries 56%
  66. 66 The Valley Leadership Academy Bacup · 80 entries 56%
  67. 67 Carnforth High School Carnforth · 120 entries 56%
  68. 68 Rhyddings Accrington · 123 entries 54%
  69. 69 The Hyndburn Academy Blackburn · 119 entries 54%
  70. 70 Marsden Heights Community College Nelson · 209 entries 54%
  71. 71 Fulwood Academy Preston · 139 entries 53%
  72. 72 All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Rossendale · 94 entries 52%
  73. 73 Fleetwood High School FLEETWOOD · 166 entries 52%
  74. 74 Morecambe Bay Academy Morecambe · 147 entries 50%
  75. 75 Burnley High School Burnley · 124 entries 50%
  76. 76 Accrington Academy Accrington · 185 entries 50%
  77. 77 Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Burnley · 249 entries 49%
  78. 78 Moor Park High School and Sixth Form Preston · 108 entries 48%
  79. 79 Colne Primet Academy Colne · 160 entries 48%
  80. 80 West Craven High School Barnoldswick · 139 entries 47%
  81. 81 Walton-Le-Dale High School Preston · 145 entries 43%
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Every school in Lancashire

Blackpool sits inside Lancashire but runs its own admissions as a separate local authority, so its schools are not in this list.

9 of 81 have no spare places. Sort the list, or narrow it first.

Pick up to 4 schools to see them side by side in the comparison tool, subject by subject.

Sixth form · Key stage 5·2024/25

A levels in Lancashire

13 of Lancashire's 14 sixth forms publish A level results. Ranked on the share reaching AAB or better in at least two of the subjects universities name, which is the measure the steepest entry requirements are written in.

Sixth form Grade AAB+

A level results only. A sixth form running mostly BTECs and other applied courses will show a dash here and can still be the right one — those are graded on their own scale, where a distinction and an A grade carry the same points and mean different things.

Bordering Lancashire

Near a boundary, schools on both sides are usually in reach. Whether a child can apply is set by each school's admission criteria, not by the border.

Blackburn with Darwen 12 schools · 44% passed English & mathsBlackpool 8 schools · 30% passed English & mathsBolton 20 schools · 44% passed English & mathsBradford 35 schools · 38% passed English & mathsBury 14 schools · 39% passed English & mathsCalderdale 13 schools · 51% passed English & mathsKnowsley 6 schools · 25% passed English & mathsNorth Yorkshire 41 schools · 47% passed English & mathsRochdale 13 schools · 35% passed English & mathsSefton 18 schools · 40% passed English & mathsSt. Helens 9 schools · 36% passed English & mathsWestmorland and Furness 20 schools · 42% passed English & mathsWigan 19 schools · 39% passed English & maths

What these mean

Attainment 8
The average pupil's total score across eight GCSE-equivalent subjects, with English and maths counting double. It is scored out of 90. A score of 50 is roughly equivalent to achieving a grade 5 across eight subjects.
Grades 4 and 5
GCSEs are graded from 9 down to 1. Grade 4 is a standard pass and broadly corresponds to the old grade C; grade 5 is what the government calls a strong pass. Grade 7 is broadly equivalent to an old grade A.
Persistent absence
The share of pupils who miss at least 10% of their possible sessions during the school year. This includes both authorised and unauthorised absence, so illness and other authorised reasons are included. Persistent absence has remained substantially higher than its pre-pandemic level.
First preference
The share of families who were offered the school they ranked first on their application, on national offer day in March. This figure is calculated across the relevant schools or admissions authority, so a high overall figure does not necessarily mean that every individual school is easy to get into.
Spare places
The amount of available capacity a school has compared with the number of pupils on roll. This is different from oversubscription: spare places measure whether a school has capacity, whereas oversubscription describes demand for places exceeding the number available. A school with no spare places may be popular, but a small school can also be full without receiving a large number of applications.
Average A-level grade
The average grade achieved across students' A-level entries. This is different from measures such as the proportion achieving AAB or better in two or more facilitating subjects, which are sometimes used to indicate higher attainment and university-entry performance.
Covers state-funded schools in England; independent schools are not included, and neither the list nor the subject figures above take account of them.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Key stage 4 performance and school characteristics: Department for Education, 2024/25. Inspection outcomes: Ofsted.