Marsden Heights Community College

Pendle · BB9 0PR

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 1047 pupils, 35.4% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 14.7% on SEN support Behaviour 7.9% absence rate Staff 22% turnover Financials £8,757 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Marsden Heights Community College

General Information

Address: Edge End Lane, Nelson, BB9 0PR – View on map
Phone: 01282683060
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr James Delve
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 209 families put it first for 205 places – 10 for every 10 places. 89% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 10 · 2025 11 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1047 pupils out of 1050 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 370
% eligible for free school meals: 35.4%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Pendle average)
English as an additional language: 85% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22% a year (Pendle 17.1%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 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: 7.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.6%
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: 14.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.1%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 44 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 38 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 26 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 19 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Vision impairment: 2 pupils

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

Good 2023 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: 40.3
Compared with the area: in line with the Pendle average (39.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−13.0 points against an expected 53.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 54% (Pendle 55%, England 65%) Falling
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 schoolPendle averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Pendle average (39.7).

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.

3rd of 6 secondary schools in Pendle for Attainment 8

#1Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School44.1
#2Pendle Vale College42.5
#3Marsden Heights Community College40.3
#4Colne Park High School38.0
#5West Craven High School37.4

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School44.1
#2Pendle Vale College42.5
#3Marsden Heights Community College40.3
#4Colne Park High School38.0
#5West Craven High School37.4
#6Colne Primet Academy35.4

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 88.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
Spanish
History
Photography
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Sociology
D & T
Art & Design
Geography
Food Technology
Computer Science
Media Studies
Italian
Urdu
Arabic
Community Development

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

1st of 3 secondary schools in Pendle for Ofsted rating

#1Marsden Heights Community CollegeGood
#2Colne Primet AcademyRequires improvement
#3West Craven High SchoolRequires improvement

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

#1Marsden Heights Community CollegeGood
#2Colne Primet AcademyRequires improvement
#3West Craven High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,757 (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.

2nd of 6 secondary schools in Pendle for spending per pupil

#1Pendle Vale College£9,724
#2Marsden Heights Community College£8,757
#3Colne Primet Academy£7,950
#4Colne Park High School£7,767

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

#1Pendle Vale College£9,724
#2Marsden Heights Community College£8,757
#3Colne Primet Academy£7,950
#4Colne Park High School£7,767
#5Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Roman Catholic High School£7,696
#6West Craven High School£7,292

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

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered