Sandbach School - The School Companion

Sandbach School

Cheshire East · CW11 3NS

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1534 pupils, 15.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 14.9% on SEN support Behaviour 7.4% absence rate Staff 15.1% turnover Financials £8,407 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Sandbach School

General Information

Address: Crewe Road, Sandbach, CW11 3NS – View on map
Phone: 01270758870
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sarah Burns
Age range: 11-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 253 families put it first for 236 places – 11 for every 10 places. 92% of them were offered a place. 5 of the 236 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 11
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Boys
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1534 pupils out of 1500 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 179
% eligible for free school meals: 15.1%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Cheshire East average)
English as an additional language: 7% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 15.1% a year (Cheshire East 12%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 55% moved to another school, 45% 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 Cheshire East: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 53 (2.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 25 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 22 (0.9 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 Cheshire East, 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: 7.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 18.3%
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: 14.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 56 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 53 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 43 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 21 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 17 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 20 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 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: 48.2
Compared with the area: in line with the Cheshire East average (47.9)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−1.4 points against an expected 49.6)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 74% (Cheshire East 69%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolCheshire East 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 Cheshire East average (47.9).

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.

11th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8

#9All Hallows Catholic College49.6
#10Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School48.2
#11Sandbach School48.2
#12Shavington Academy47.8
#13St Thomas More Catholic High School47.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College55.6
#2Knutsford Academy54.9
#3The Fallibroome Academy53.4
#4Poynton High School53.0
#5Alsager School51.9
#6Wilmslow High School51.4
#7Tytherington School50.1
#8Brine Leas School49.7
#9All Hallows Catholic College49.6
#10Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School48.2
#11Sandbach School48.2
#12Shavington Academy47.8
#13St Thomas More Catholic High School47.7
#14Eaton Bank Academy46.9
#15Congleton High School44.8
#16The Macclesfield Academy42.7
#17Middlewich High School41.2
#18Ruskin Community High School37.9
#19The Oaks Academy35.4
#20Crewe Engineering and Design UTC32.4
#21Sir William Stanier School28.4
#22Cheshire Studio School24.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
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
Science Double Award
D & T
History
Geography
Business Studies
Food Technology
Sports Studies
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Art & Design
German
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Photography
Statistics
Dance: General
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Spanish
Russian
Polish
Arabic

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

11th of 17 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Ofsted rating

#9Ruskin Community High SchoolGood
#10Sandbach High School and Sixth Form CollegeGood
#11Sandbach SchoolGood
#12Shavington AcademyGood
#13St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolGood

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

#1Alsager SchoolGood
#2Brine Leas SchoolGood
#3Cheshire Studio SchoolGood
#4Congleton High SchoolGood
#5Holmes Chapel Comprehensive SchoolGood
#6Malbank School and Sixth Form CollegeGood
#7Middlewich High SchoolGood
#8Poynton High SchoolGood
#9Ruskin Community High SchoolGood
#10Sandbach High School and Sixth Form CollegeGood
#11Sandbach SchoolGood
#12Shavington AcademyGood
#13St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolGood
#14The Fallibroome AcademyGood
#15The Oaks AcademyGood
#16Wilmslow High SchoolGood
#17The Macclesfield AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,407 (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.

7th of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for spending per pupil

#5St Thomas More Catholic High School£8,791
#6Crewe Engineering and Design UTC£8,702
#7Sandbach School£8,407
#8The Macclesfield Academy£8,393
#9The Oaks Academy£7,991

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

#1Cheshire Studio School£16,182
#2Middlewich High School£9,507
#3Sir William Stanier School£9,387
#4Ruskin Community High School£9,117
#5St Thomas More Catholic High School£8,791
#6Crewe Engineering and Design UTC£8,702
#7Sandbach School£8,407
#8The Macclesfield Academy£8,393
#9The Oaks Academy£7,991
#10Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College£7,520
#11Alsager School£7,486
#12Wilmslow High School£7,430
#13Congleton High School£7,380
#14Eaton Bank Academy£7,326
#15Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School£7,312
#16Tytherington School£7,294
#17Brine Leas School£7,164
#18The Fallibroome Academy£7,105
#19All Hallows Catholic College£7,050
#20Shavington Academy£6,906
#21Knutsford Academy£6,645
#22Poynton High School£6,143

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 Cheshire East: 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