School is tops in our new survey
HOW good is your local secondary school? We’ve analysed all the available local government data to bring you the rundown on Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton’s secondary schools.
On our website you can see how each secondary compares against other schools in your neighbourhood, town, region and across the UK.
Data is available for comparison on everything from pupils’ attainment and the quality of the teaching to when the school was lasted inspected and teacher to pupil ratio.
And after crunching the numbers we can reveal that Holy Family RC and CE College in Heywood has come out on top in the borough.
The faith school with family values is one of two large secondaries serving Heywood and continues to build on its ‘good’ rating by Ofsted.
Headteacher Chris Foley, who took over as headteacher in September 2016, is credited for his ‘transformational’ impact on the school.
The school’s Progress 8 score continues to get better, and is above the national averages for secondary schools.
Holy Family had always been a good school but is considered to be on its way to ‘outstanding’.
“We are delighted to be judged so highly in the guide,” says Mr Foley.
“It is very much a surprise to governors, staff and students, but is certainly a recognition of the hard work and determination shown by teachers and support staff.
“Every adult in the school plays a part in the success of our students.
“Holy Family focuses on the students that we serve, and our Christian mission is to mould them into adults who will make the world a better place.
“We try to live out our Christian faith each and every day, and this is what makes us unique.
“It was lovely to receive such a positive inspection report from Ofsted, but again this is the outcome of trying to serve the students each and every day.
“Our focus now is just to improve year on year, so we are developing the future leaders of our area and country.”
The Real Schools Guide 2017, compiled by the Observer’s parent company Trinity Mirror’s data unit, aims to give a far more comprehensive picture than traditional league tables.
It takes into account 50 different data points including not just GCSE results and Attainment 8 scores but also factors like Progress 8, pupilteacher ratios and absence rates.
Parents can go online at manchestereveningnews.co.uk to browse the full data, compare different schools, and find links to contact details and recent Ofsted reports.
The Guide, now in its fifth year, has been praised by ministers and education experts alike. Former schools minister David Laws called it ‘public-service journalism in the best tradition’.