The Blue Coat CofE School

Oldham · OL1 3SQ

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1702 pupils, 16.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 6.2% on SEN support Behaviour 4.8% absence rate Staff 13.6% turnover Financials £7,469 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Blue Coat CofE School

General Information

Address: Egerton Street, Chadderton, Oldham, OL1 3SQ – View on map
Phone: 01616241484
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Rob Higgins
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 611 families put it first for 232 places – 26 for every 10 places. 37% of them were offered a place. 69 of the 232 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 22 · 2024 25 · 2025 26 · 2026 26
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1702 pupils out of 1550 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 203
% eligible for free school meals: 16.5%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Oldham average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.6% a year (Oldham 18.3%, 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 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 Oldham: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 11 (0.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 6 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 14 (0.8 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 Oldham, 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: 4.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.9%
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: 6.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 41 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 18 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 16 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 6 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 22 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 15 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Vision impairment: 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

Outstanding 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: 59.1
Compared with the area: 15.0 points above the Oldham average (44.1)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+8.9 points against an expected 50.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 88% (Oldham 60%, 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 schoolOldham 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 15.0 points above the Oldham average (44.1).

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 10 secondary schools in Oldham for Attainment 8

#1The Blue Coat CofE School59.1
#2E-ACT the Oldham Academy North48.2
#3The Crompton House Church of England Academy46.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1The Blue Coat CofE School59.1
#2E-ACT the Oldham Academy North48.2
#3The Crompton House Church of England Academy46.8
#4North Chadderton School43.8
#5Co-op Academy Failsworth43.0
#6Oasis Academy Oldham42.8
#7Oasis Academy Leesbrook41.5
#8The Hathershaw College39.3
#9E-ACT Royton and Crompton Academy38.7
#10Waterhead Academy34.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 97.0%
Went into further education: 93.0%
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
History
German
Geography
French Language
D & T
Art & Design
Sociology
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Business Studies
Computer Science
Media Studies
Speech & Drama
Photography
Food Technology
Sports Studies
Music Studies (General)
Chinese
Psychology (General)

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 9 secondary schools in Oldham for Ofsted rating

#1The Blue Coat CofE SchoolOutstanding
#2Co-op Academy FailsworthGood
#3E-ACT the Oldham Academy NorthGood

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

#1The Blue Coat CofE SchoolOutstanding
#2Co-op Academy FailsworthGood
#3E-ACT the Oldham Academy NorthGood
#4Oasis Academy LeesbrookGood
#5Oasis Academy OldhamGood
#6The Crompton House Church of England AcademyGood
#7The Radclyffe SchoolGood
#8Saddleworth SchoolRequires improvement
#9Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,469 (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.

9th of 14 secondary schools in Oldham for spending per pupil

#7E-ACT Royton and Crompton Academy£7,654
#8The Crompton House Church of England Academy£7,497
#9The Blue Coat CofE School£7,469
#10North Chadderton School£7,312
#11E-ACT the Oldham Academy North£6,867

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

#1Waterhead Academy£9,614
#2Co-op Academy Failsworth£9,001
#3The Hathershaw College£8,715
#4The Brian Clarke Church of England Academy£8,676
#5Oasis Academy Oldham£8,589
#6Oasis Academy Leesbrook£8,181
#7E-ACT Royton and Crompton Academy£7,654
#8The Crompton House Church of England Academy£7,497
#9The Blue Coat CofE School£7,469
#10North Chadderton School£7,312
#11E-ACT the Oldham Academy North£6,867
#12Saint John Henry Newman Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy£4,172
#13Saddleworth School£3,227
#14The Radclyffe School£3,056

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 Oldham: 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