Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

Rossendale · BB4 7BJ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1087 pupils, 7.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Inadequate

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.2% on SEN support Behaviour 4.6% absence rate Staff 19.7% turnover Financials £7,142 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

General Information

Address: Glen Road, Rossendale, BB4 7BJ – View on map
Phone: 01706234500
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr James Johnstone
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 219 families put it first for 181 places – 12 for every 10 places. 79% of them were offered a place. 80 of the 181 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 12 · 2025 12 · 2026 12
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1087 pupils out of 1260 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 63
% eligible for free school meals: 7.3%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Rossendale average)
English as an additional language: 8% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19.7% a year (Rossendale 14.5%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 44% moved to another school, 56% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 88 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 8
Suspensions for bullying: 163 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 76 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 8.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 0.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 42 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 18 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 13 pupils
Physical disability: 6 pupils
Hearing impairment: 5 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Inadequate 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 73.3
Compared with the area: 25.6 points above the Rossendale average (47.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: not compared – selective (grammar) school - chooses pupils by ability
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 100% (Rossendale 68%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolRossendale averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2023/24 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 25.6 points above the Rossendale average (47.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

1st of 6 secondary schools in Rossendale for Attainment 8

#1Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School73.3
#2Whitworth Community High School50.3
#3Haslingden High School and Sixth Form44.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School73.3
#2Whitworth Community High School50.3
#3Haslingden High School and Sixth Form44.2
#4Alder Grange School37.0
#5All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy35.3
#6The Valley Leadership Academy32.6

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Religious Studies
History
Geography
Spanish
German
Computer Science
Sports Studies
Art & Design
D & T
Food Technology
Music Studies (General)
Speech & Drama
Science Double Award
Japanese Language

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 3 secondary schools in Rossendale for Ofsted rating

#1Whitworth Community High SchoolGood
#2All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary AcademyRequires improvement
#3Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar SchoolInadequate

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Whitworth Community High SchoolGood
#2All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary AcademyRequires improvement
#3Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,142 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

6th of 6 secondary schools in Rossendale for spending per pupil

#4Alder Grange School£7,631
#5Haslingden High School and Sixth Form£7,499
#6Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School£7,142

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1The Valley Leadership Academy£9,798
#2All Saints' Roman Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy£8,509
#3Whitworth Community High School£7,880
#4Alder Grange School£7,631
#5Haslingden High School and Sixth Form£7,499
#6Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School£7,142

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

GCSE Subjects Offered