CHS South Review 2026: Purpose-built secondary with a creative and sporting edge

CHS South is a state-funded 11–16 secondary serving South Manchester, opened in 2018 and now based in a purpose-built building at Hough End (moved in September 2021). The school positions itself around a blend of academic study and creative development, with facilities that match that ambition, including specialist spaces for theatre, music, dance, art and photography alongside a strong sports offer.

Leadership is delivered through a trust model, with Prospere Learning Trust as the admissions authority and governance context. Day-to-day, the tone is one of clear expectations and a settled learning culture, with school values framed as being ready, respectful and safe.

On outcomes, CHS South sits broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England for GCSE performance (25th to 60th percentile), based on FindMySchool’s ranking derived from official datasets. That profile will appeal to families seeking a modern comprehensive school with strong arts and sport infrastructure, plus a clear behaviour and safeguarding framework.

A defining feature here is that the school is not trying to be everything to everyone in the same way older, space-constrained sites sometimes must. The move into a new, purpose-built building in September 2021 gave CHS South the chance to hard-wire specialist provision into the everyday rhythm of school life. Practical implications for students are straightforward, creative and performance subjects can operate in proper specialist rooms rather than being squeezed into repurposed classrooms, which tends to raise both participation and standards over time.

Values and conduct are framed simply and consistently. The January 2023 Ofsted inspection judged the school Good overall, with Good grades across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The same report sets out a calm picture in most lessons, with pupils generally showing positive attitudes to learning and disruption being unusual. This matters for families weighing up whether a newer school has achieved the stable routines that enable teaching time to be used well.

Leadership is also unusually transparent through publicly available school documents. David Prophet is named as Headteacher in the school’s prospectus and safeguarding documentation, which is a helpful consistency signal for parents tracking leadership continuity. The trust model also means there is a wider organisational context and shared infrastructure, including policy frameworks and governance arrangements across Prospere Learning Trust schools.

CHS South’s GCSE performance profile is best read as broadly typical for England, rather than sharply selective or heavily exam-driven. In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (built from official data), the school is ranked 1,963rd in England and 40th within Manchester. This translates to performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is often where well-run comprehensive schools with mixed intakes sit.

Looking at the underlying attainment measures, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 44.8, and Progress 8 is -0.14. For parents, this combination usually indicates that overall attainment is close to average and that outcomes, on average, are slightly below what national models would predict from students’ starting points. It is important to interpret that with context, newer schools often see measures shift as cohorts stabilise and curriculum sequencing embeds across multiple year groups.

EBacc indicators offer a second lens. Average EBacc APS is 4.0, and 18.2% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above across EBacc components. CHS South has also been explicit about increasing access to languages and the wider EBacc suite over time, which is relevant for families who value a more traditional academic curriculum alongside arts specialism.

Parents comparing local options should treat the ranking as a starting point rather than a full decision tool. The FindMySchool local hub and comparison features are useful for looking at GCSE measures side-by-side across Manchester schools, then narrowing to the two or three that best match a child’s learning style and interests.

Curriculum intent is described in two complementary ways. First, the school presents itself as creative and arts-rich, with facilities and enrichment designed to develop practical, performance and production skills alongside mainstream academic subjects. Second, external evaluation describes a curriculum that is ambitious in most subjects and carefully sequenced, while also noting that a small number of subjects have less-developed breadth and fewer structured opportunities to revisit prior learning.

In day-to-day teaching, the January 2023 inspection highlights routine checking for understanding and responsive adjustment in lessons, which is a strong marker for effective classroom practice. It also points to staff having strong subject knowledge and explaining concepts clearly, which typically correlates with more consistent progress across mixed-ability classes.

A practical strength for many families will be the link between specialist spaces and curriculum delivery. Computing, science and technology rooms are described as specialist-equipped, and arts facilities include a theatre, drama studios, music classrooms with practice rooms, a sprung dance studio, and art and photography suites. The implication is not simply “better facilities”, it is more teaching time spent on the real substance of a subject because equipment, storage and setup are built into the room design.

Where Students Go Next

CHS South currently serves students up to age 16 and does not have a sixth form. That means post-16 choices matter, families should treat Year 9 options and Year 10 preparation as part of a two-stage journey that ends with sixth-form or college selection.

The school’s careers and guidance work is described as structured and meaningful, helping students make informed decisions about options and next steps, including technical routes and apprenticeships as well as academic pathways. For many students, the best “destination” outcome is not a single headline measure but a well-matched post-16 placement that sustains motivation through Years 12 and 13.

Parents who want to plan early should look for three things when engaging with the school’s guidance process: clarity on entry requirements for local sixth forms and colleges, realism about course workload, and a balanced view of both A-level and applied or technical programmes. Where students are aiming for competitive routes later, strong GCSE foundations in English and maths remain pivotal.

For Year 7 entry, CHS South sits within Manchester’s coordinated admissions timetable and is also governed by its own admissions policy as an academy within Prospere Learning Trust. For September 2026 entry, Manchester’s application round opened on 01 July 2025, with the on-time deadline on 31 October 2025, and offers issued on 02 March 2026.

The school’s Published Admission Number (PAN) for Year 7 is 240. When applications exceed that number, the admissions policy sets out the oversubscription structure, beginning with looked-after and previously looked-after children, then exceptional social or medical need, then other categories as defined in the policy.

Demand indicators show the school as oversubscribed in the most recently published admissions dataset available here. Because the “last distance offered” figure is not available for this profile, families should not rely on informal catchment assumptions. The most practical approach is to use a precise distance checker (such as FindMySchool’s map search tools) and then confirm criteria carefully against the published admissions policy and Manchester’s coordinated scheme.

Pastoral systems combine routine adult contact with a clear safeguarding framework. The school’s prospectus sets out daily tutor-group structures and year-group pastoral leadership, which matters in an 11–16 setting where relationships and consistency often determine how well students settle into secondary routines.

Safeguarding is treated as a core operational priority with named roles and detailed procedures in published documentation. Inspectors confirmed safeguarding arrangements are effective. From a parental perspective, the most meaningful implication is that reporting routes, escalation processes and multi-agency working are defined rather than improvised, which is especially important in a busy urban context.

The January 2023 inspection also notes that pupils report feeling safe and that bullying is addressed quickly when it occurs. Families evaluating fit should still ask how behaviour is managed at social times and transitions, since the same report identifies this as an improvement focus for a small minority of pupils.

Extracurricular life is one of the clearer differentiators at CHS South because it aligns directly with facilities and location. The school is situated beside established community sports provision, and it contributes a sports hall, an Astroturf pitch, basketball and netball courts, and table tennis facilities. The practical impact is that competitive fixtures and training can run on-site without constant travel, and recreational participation can be scaled across year groups rather than limited to small squads.

Creative and performing arts are also structurally embedded. The theatre, drama studios, music rooms with practice spaces, dance studio, and art and photography suites create a credible platform for performance work and production values that feel “real” to students. For families with children who thrive when they can make and perform, this can be a decisive advantage, it often keeps engagement high even when academic subjects feel demanding.

Clubs and student groups are described as broad and varied rather than tokenistic. Pupils referenced drama productions, pride group activity, and coding and eco clubs as part of the regular offering. Those examples are useful because they indicate three different strands, performance, inclusion and identity, and practical STEM and sustainability interests. The implication for parents is that social belonging is not left to chance, there are defined spaces for students to find peers with shared interests, which can be particularly important in Years 7 and 8.

CHS South is based at Hough End, with a setting closely linked to local sports facilities and clubs. For families driving, on-site parking is available (with a car park at the front of the school, as noted in official school-experience information).

The published information available here does not set out standard daily start and finish times for students in a single, reliable place. Parents should confirm the current school-day timings directly with the school, particularly if wraparound arrangements, extracurricular schedules, or transport planning are key to family logistics.

• No sixth form. Students move on after Year 11, so families should plan early for post-16 routes and entry requirements.

• Outcomes are broadly typical for England. The school sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England for GCSE performance (25th to 60th percentile), which is solid but not a “selective” outcomes profile.

• Behaviour at unstructured times is an improvement focus. Most lessons run calmly, but a small minority of pupils need support at transitions and social times, which can matter for children who are sensitive to corridor dynamics.

• Distance and cut-off data is not available here. Without a last-distance figure, families should be cautious about assuming proximity alone will be enough in an oversubscribed context.

CHS South is a modern 11–16 comprehensive with facilities that make creative arts and sport feel integral rather than optional. Its overall profile is that of a settled, well-structured school with a Good inspection outcome and a broad enrichment offer, sitting around the England middle range for GCSE performance.

Who it suits: families who want a state secondary with strong specialist spaces for performance, arts and sport, plus a clear behaviour framework, and who are comfortable planning post-16 progression elsewhere at the end of Year 11. Admission is the obstacle; the education is clear and purposeful once secured.