Congleton High School Review 2026: A calm 11-18 comprehensive with a practical, career-minded streak

Congleton High School is a mixed, non-faith 11-18 school serving the Congleton area, with a sizeable sixth form and a strong emphasis on personal development alongside study. The day runs on clear routines, with an 8:40am registration and a 3:10pm finish, and many clubs running straight after school.

Leadership has been in a period of change in recent years, with Ms Heidi Thurland now named as Headteacher, described as the new headteacher in September 2023 communications to families. The school sits within The Learning Partnership family of schools, formed through a trust merger in September 2023, which adds a wider support structure behind day-to-day school improvement.

The most recent Ofsted inspection took place on 2-3 February 2023 and confirmed the school continued to be Good, describing a safe, respectful culture and calm behaviour around school.

The headline feel here is orderly, friendly, and focused on respectful relationships. A consistent theme in official commentary is that pupils get on well with staff and with each other, with considerate behaviour and a purposeful tone in corridors and classrooms. This matters for families weighing up whether a large mainstream school will feel anonymous, because the evidence points the other way: routines are clear, staff respond to issues, and pupils report confidence that concerns will be heard.

A distinctive thread running through the school’s identity is its engineering and practical tradition. The school’s history material describes a long-standing strength in engineering and links with local industry, and that lineage still shows up in how the school talks about curriculum breadth and pathways. In today’s version, that translates into a Design and Technology offer that includes engineering and a CAD/CAM suite, plus a stated intention to connect learning with real-world applications. The implication for students is straightforward: those who learn best by making, testing, and refining ideas should find a curriculum that takes practical competence seriously, not as an add-on.

The trust context is also part of the school’s current character. The history timeline explains that The Learning Partnership was formed in September 2023 through merger, bringing the school into a wider cross-phase group. For parents, the practical meaning is that school improvement work is not only internal. It is shaped by shared systems and professional networks, which can help with consistency in areas like curriculum planning, safeguarding processes, and staff development.

Congleton High School sits around the middle of England’s performance distribution at GCSE on the available measures. Ranked 2,365th in England and 2nd in Congleton for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), results align with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Looking beyond rank, the underlying indicators suggest a mixed picture. Attainment 8 is 41.7 and the Progress 8 score is -0.47. A negative Progress 8 score indicates that, on average, pupils made less progress than pupils with similar starting points across England. The EBacc average point score is 3.8, and 16.8% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects. These figures point to a school where outcomes are not uniformly strong across all measures, with progress in particular a key area families may want to explore in more detail during visits and conversations.

Sixth form outcomes sit lower in the England distribution on the available A-level data. Ranked 2,099th in England and 2nd in Congleton for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), results fall into the below-England-average tier. On grades, 1.64% of entries achieved A*, 8.2% achieved A, 22.4% achieved B, and 32.24% achieved A* to B. The England average for A* to B is 47.2%, so the school’s 32.24% is below that benchmark.

How to use this as a parent: treat the GCSE profile as “broadly typical for England, with improvement work needed on progress”, and treat the sixth form data as a prompt to ask sharper questions about subject-level variation, teaching capacity, and support structures. If you are comparing local options, FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you see these rankings and metrics alongside nearby schools, using the same underlying dataset.

A useful starting point for understanding learning at Congleton High School is how it describes curriculum structure in Key Stage 3. The published model shows a broad offer that keeps core subjects strong while maintaining time for arts and practical learning. Languages are part of this picture, with French in Year 7 and Spanish introduced from Year 8, alongside humanities, Design and Technology, ICT, music, drama, and personal development. The implication is that students who benefit from variety, not just extended time in English and maths, are likely to find a timetable that keeps options open into Key Stage 4.

The “practical tradition” also comes through in facilities and subject framing. Design and Technology describes specialist areas spanning food technology, textiles, product design, resistant materials and engineering, anchored by a CAD/CAM suite. That matters because facilities alone do not raise outcomes, but they can make a difference when staff use them to build technical confidence and independent problem-solving. For students considering engineering, product design, or applied science routes, this is one of the clearer points of differentiation versus schools where Design and Technology is smaller in scale.

Creativity is treated as a serious strand, not only at GCSE. Art is described as having three purpose-built rooms, a sixth form studio, a kiln area, and specialist spaces for processes such as silkscreen printing and digital photography editing. The benefit for students is access to process-led learning where experimentation is expected and portfolios can develop with proper technical support.

Finally, it is worth understanding that teaching and learning is not described as perfect across the board. The most recent inspection evidence highlights that in a small number of subjects, classroom activities do not always give pupils enough opportunities to practise and consolidate, which can leave learning less secure. For parents, this points to a sensible line of enquiry: which departments are strongest, what has changed since 2023, and how the school checks that classroom practice is consistent across subjects.

The sixth form is positioned as a mixed pathway provider, with students progressing to university, apprenticeships, employment, and further education. For the 2023-2024 leavers cohort (size 132), 36% progressed to university, 11% started apprenticeships, 33% entered employment, and 2% progressed to further education.

Alongside that broad progression picture, there is an academic pipeline for the highest-attaining. Over the measured period, two students applied to Cambridge, one received an offer, and one ultimately accepted a place. This is not a large-volume Oxbridge pipeline, but it is a signal that the most academically ambitious students can be supported through elite applications when the individual fit is right.

The school also publishes a qualitative destinations list for students who left in summer 2025, naming a spread that includes University of Manchester, University of Bristol, University of York, University of Glasgow, University of Bath, and others, plus degree apprenticeships such as software engineering with a BSc pathway. The implication is practical: if your child’s plan is not a single “university or nothing” route, this is a setting where multiple post-18 outcomes are treated as normal, and where apprenticeships are part of the conversation rather than a side option.

For students aiming for more competitive universities, enrichment matters as much as headline grades. The sixth form’s Honours Programme is explicitly aimed at students with strong GCSE profiles, offering activities such as masterclasses, university visits, conferences, and extension study, which can strengthen personal statements and interview readiness.

Year 7 entry (September 2026)

Year 7 applications are coordinated through Cheshire East. For September 2026 entry, the published timetable sets 31 October 2025 as the closing date, with offers made on 2 March 2026 and the acceptance deadline on 16 March 2026.

As of January 2026, those on-time dates have already passed, and Cheshire East notes that late applications remain possible but may be disadvantaged, particularly where schools are oversubscribed. If you are applying late or moving into the area, the school’s in-year admissions guidance and the local authority’s process are the places to start.

Open events follow a familiar pattern across recent years. The school has run a main open evening in September with an additional open morning in early October, with booking referenced for tours. For families planning ahead for later intakes, treat late September and early October as the typical window, then confirm dates on the school’s events pages each year.

A practical planning tip: if you are comparing realistic commutes, use FindMySchoolMap Search to check travel times from home at peak hours, and to compare routes against other local options. This is especially useful where siblings, transport availability, or shift work makes the “closest school” not always the best logistical fit.

Sixth form entry (September 2026)

Sixth form applications are direct to the school. Applications for starting in September 2026 were published as open from 6 November 2025, with applicants invited to an informal meeting to discuss courses.

Entry requirements are stated clearly in the sixth form prospectus. For A-level study, the basic entry level is 5 GCSEs at Grade 6, with flexibility described as available on an individual basis; for vocational pathways, the basic entry level is 2 GCSEs at Grade 5 and 3 GCSEs at Grade 4, again with some flexibility. Subject-specific thresholds are also indicated in the school’s course materials, for example higher grades for mathematics and the separate sciences where relevant.

Pastoral strength here is closely linked to relationships and clarity of expectations. Pupils report feeling safe and supported, and the safeguarding framework is described as effective, with an experienced safeguarding team, trained staff, and clear reporting systems.

Personal development is treated as part of the mainstream offer rather than an add-on. Students learn about issues such as healthy relationships and online risk, and there are structured opportunities for leadership, including sixth form roles connected to charity initiatives and wider school responsibilities. The implication for families is that the school’s “outcomes” story is not only about grades. It is also about confidence, responsibility, and readiness for adult life, including employment routes.

For parents concerned about bullying and culture, the official picture is that issues are taken seriously and resolved quickly, with pupils expressing trust that staff will act. As always, it is still worth asking how concerns are logged, how patterns are spotted, and how the school supports students who are anxious or socially vulnerable, especially around the Year 6 to Year 7 transition.

Extracurricular life is broad and, importantly, it includes activity that looks like “stretch” as well as activity that looks like “fun”. The published extracurricular timetable for 2025-2026 includes Chess Club at lunchtime, Cryptography Club at lunchtime, Media Club, Key Stage 3 Art Club, and structured catch-up sessions for GCSE coursework. This is a useful signal for parents of academically minded pupils, because it suggests that the school is making space for intellectual curiosity beyond the lesson timetable.

Performing arts and student voice sit alongside that. The activities list includes Drama Club, Dance Club, Boys’ Vocal Group and a general Vocal Group, plus GCSE music coursework support. There is also a sixth form Student Leadership Team structure described, with roles that build organisational skills and contribute to events and school operations.

Sport looks inclusive rather than elite-only. The sports programme for January to March 2026 lists football, netball, badminton, basketball, darts club and trampolining across different year groups, with sixth form fixtures also noted. A parent-friendly detail here is timing: many clubs run 3:10pm to 4:10pm, which makes it feasible for students who travel by bus and still want regular participation.

The school day is clearly set out. Students arrive from 8:30am, registration is at 8:40am, and the school day ends at 3:10pm, with after-school clubs typically running until 4:10pm.

Transport is a practical strength for a large catchment. The school notes that Cheshire East Council operates services to and from school, alongside commercial bus routes, and outlines free transport for eligible students up to age 16 who live more than 3 miles from school within catchment, with separate discounted travel arrangements highlighted for 16-19.

Wraparound childcare is not usually a feature of secondary schools in the way it is in primary, but the timetable of clubs immediately after school can function as supervised structure for many families on working-day schedules. For the precise current offer by term, the extracurricular timetables are updated regularly.

• Progress and consistency across subjects. The Progress 8 score of -0.47 indicates lower-than-average progress across England for pupils with similar starting points. It is sensible to ask how the school targets improvement by department and how it checks consistency of classroom practice.

• Sixth form outcomes vary by route. A-level grades show 32.24% at A* to B, below the England average of 47.2%. This may still be a good fit for students choosing vocational pathways, mixed programmes, or strong pastoral support, but families focused on high A-level attainment should explore subject-level outcomes and teaching capacity.

• Reading and knowledge consolidation remain improvement priorities. Official evidence highlights that, in a small number of subjects, pupils do not always get enough structured opportunities to practise and revisit key learning, and that the whole-school reading strategy was not fully embedded at the time of the last inspection.

• Admissions timing is unforgiving. For September 2026 entry, the Year 7 closing date was 31 October 2025 and the local authority notes on-time deadlines have passed, with late applications potentially disadvantaged.

Congleton High School suits families looking for a mainstream 11-18 option with clear routines, a respectful culture, and genuine visibility of practical and career-minded pathways. The curriculum breadth at Key Stage 3, alongside specialist facilities in areas such as Design and Technology and Art, will suit students who learn well through a mix of academic and applied work.

The main challenge is outcomes consistency, particularly around progress measures and A-level attainment, which places a premium on asking detailed questions about subject strength and recent improvement work. Best suited to students who value structure, want access to clubs and leadership opportunities, and may be considering a range of post-16 and post-18 routes including apprenticeships as well as university.