Birchwood Community High School
Brock Road, Birchwood, Warrington, WA3 7PTOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Birchwood Community High School is a secondary school in Warrington for ages 11 to 16. It is one of the 92 schools in Warrington. It ranks 8th of 14 secondary schools in Warrington. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in December 2024, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 10 December 2024, report published 19 January 2025
This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 10 December 2024
This school has a strong sense of community spirit. Pupils are warmly welcomed into the Birchwood family. This includes the high number of pupils who join at different times during the year. Pupils are confident to display their individuality in a place where difference is celebrated. They are happy and proud to attend this school. Pupils benefit from strong, caring relationships with staff. The school prioritises pupils' well-being. Pupils learn strategies for keeping themselves healthy. There is a considerable emphasis on the importance of taking time to talk about emotions. This helps pupils to acknowledge how they are feeling and ask for support if it is needed. The school is ambitious for pupils' achievement. In the main, pupils learn the curriculum successfully. Pupils are keen to learn. They engage positively in lessons. Behaviour around the school is calm and pupils feel safe. There is a myriad of opportunities for pupils to develop their interests. For example, pupils appreciate learning new skills such as sign language, debating and engineering. Furthermore, clubs that support pupils' well-being, such as Humankind, mindful maths and nature club are attended well and positively benefit pupils' mental health.
What the school should improve
- In a minority of subjects, the school has not defined clearly what pupils need to know and be able to do. This means that teachers, in these subjects, cannot emphasise this important knowledge in lessons or check sufficiently well that pupils have learned the curriculum. As a result, some pupils struggle to remember learning over time. The school should ensure that, in all subjects, it identifies the essential knowledge that needs to be taught.
- Some pupils, especially those who are disadvantaged, do not attend school frequently enough. As a result, these pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school should strengthen its systems for improving rates of attendance for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.
Exam results
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
154 pupils in the year group
Pupil numbers and mix
875 pupils on roll, with places for 1,050
Schools near Birchwood Community High School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| King's Leadership Academy Warrington | 1 mile | Ofsted: Outstanding | Attainment 8: 56.0 |
| Padgate Academy | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 39.4 |
| Cardinal Newman Catholic High School | 2 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 41.9 |
| Beamont Collegiate Academy | 2 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 45.8 |
| Culcheth High School | 3 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 51.1 |
School details
- School type
- Academy converter
- Sector
- Academy
- Trust
- ONE COMMUNITY TRUST
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- No
- Headteacher
- Emma Mills
- Phone
- 01925853500
- Address
- Brock Road, Birchwood, Warrington, WA3 7PT
- Local authority
- Warrington
- URN
- 139840
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.