The Barlow RC High School

General Information

Address: Parrs Wood Road, East Didsbury, Manchester, M20 6BX
Phone: 01614458053
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Claire Wallace
Age range: 11-16 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 930
School capacity: 940
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 367
% eligible for free school meals: 39.5%
Nursery provision: No

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.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.7%
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

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.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 7.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 8.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 22 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 20 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 10 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 28 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 27 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 3 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 –

Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

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Educational Attainment

Good 2024 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.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 49.8
Data year: 2024/25

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.

Ranked #9 of 28 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#7Whalley Range 11-18 High School52.1
#8Trinity CofE High School50.0
#9The Barlow RC High School49.8
#10Our Lady's RC High School49.1
#11Wright Robinson College49.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester58.2
#2Didsbury High School57.1
#3The King David High School55.4
#4Chorlton High School54.0
#5Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Manchester53.1
#6Levenshulme High School52.5
#7Whalley Range 11-18 High School52.1
#8Trinity CofE High School50.0
#9The Barlow RC High School49.8
#10Our Lady's RC High School49.1
#11Wright Robinson College49.1
#12CHS South48.3
#13Parrs Wood High School48.1
#14St Peter's RC High School47.4
#15Burnage Academy for Boys46.6
#16Dean Trust Ardwick46.6
#17Loreto High School Chorlton46.6
#18Manchester Enterprise Academy Central46.1
#19Manchester Academy45.4
#20Co-op Academy Manchester44.9
#21Manchester Communication Academy44.5
#22Co-op Academy North Manchester42.4
#23The East Manchester Academy41.9
#24St Matthew's RC High School37.8
#25Manchester Enterprise Academy37.5
#26Cedar Mount Academy37.2
#27Dixons Brooklands Academy36.1
#28Saint Paul's Catholic High School33.3

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 87.0%
Went into further education: 84.0%
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

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Religious Studies
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Spanish
Art & Design
Business Studies
Sports Studies
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Computer Science
Photography
Speech & Drama
Urdu
Statistics
Polish
Arabic
Music Studies (General)
Italian
Chinese
Community Development
Russian
French Language
Turkish

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

Ranked #20 of 25 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#18Saint Paul's Catholic High SchoolGood
#19St Peter's RC High SchoolGood
#20The Barlow RC High SchoolGood
#21Trinity CofE High SchoolGood
#22Whalley Range 11-18 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.

#1Burnage Academy for BoysOutstanding
#2Co-op Academy Belle VueOutstanding
#3Didsbury High SchoolOutstanding
#4Levenshulme High SchoolOutstanding
#5Wright Robinson CollegeOutstanding
#6CHS SouthGood
#7Chorlton High SchoolGood
#8Co-op Academy ManchesterGood
#9Co-op Academy North ManchesterGood
#10Dean Trust ArdwickGood
#11Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, ManchesterGood
#12Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, ManchesterGood
#13Manchester AcademyGood
#14Manchester Communication AcademyGood
#15Manchester Enterprise AcademyGood
#16Manchester Enterprise Academy CentralGood
#17Our Lady's RC High SchoolGood
#18Saint Paul's Catholic High SchoolGood
#19St Peter's RC High SchoolGood
#20The Barlow RC High SchoolGood
#21Trinity CofE High SchoolGood
#22Whalley Range 11-18 High SchoolGood
#23Cedar Mount AcademyRequires improvement
#24Loreto High School ChorltonRequires improvement
#25The King David High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £9,254 (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.

Ranked #10 of 31 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#8Loreto High School Chorlton£9,349
#9Burnage Academy for Boys£9,348
#10The Barlow RC High School£9,254
#11Manchester Enterprise Academy£9,199
#12Wright Robinson College£9,078

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.

#1The King David High School£9,700
#2The East Manchester Academy£9,674
#3St Peter's RC High School£9,603
#4Saint Paul's Catholic High School£9,550
#5Dixons Newall Green Academy£9,475
#6Cedar Mount Academy£9,434
#7Manchester Academy£9,432
#8Loreto High School Chorlton£9,349
#9Burnage Academy for Boys£9,348
#10The Barlow RC High School£9,254
#11Manchester Enterprise Academy£9,199
#12Wright Robinson College£9,078
#13Co-op Academy North Manchester£9,059
#14Dean Trust Ardwick£9,022
#15Manchester Communication Academy£8,961
#16Dixons Brooklands Academy£8,863
#17Our Lady's RC High School£8,850
#18Levenshulme High School£8,772
#19Co-op Academy Belle Vue£8,701
#20Trinity CofE High School£8,527
#21St Matthew's RC High School£8,498
#22Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Manchester£8,451
#23Co-op Academy Manchester£8,449
#24Manchester Enterprise Academy Central£8,216
#25CHS South£8,152
#26Whalley Range 11-18 High School£8,002
#27Chorlton High School£7,999
#28Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester£7,991
#29Parrs Wood High School£7,928
#30Didsbury High School£7,721
#31Connell Co-Op College£5,845

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

General Information

Behaviour

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