Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0Across their best eight GCSEs, pupils in Leek score 39.2 on Attainment 8, below both Staffordshire’s towns (43.2) and towns in England (45.9). 12 state-funded schools are located in Leek’s built-up area. Leek grades C− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #42 of 46 in Staffordshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.
12 of Leek’s 12 state schools belong to 5 academy trusts. Talentum Learning Trust runs 7 of them, including Churnet View Middle, Leek High and Westwood College: 1,436 of the 2,098 secondary pupils. Who runs them ↓
Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually get lower results. At St Mary's Catholic Academy, 27% of pupils are on free school meals and 82% meet the expected standard; a typical school in England with that intake reaches 61%. Results and intake ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
The primary figure lifts Leek; the secondary figure holds it back.
The primary figure: 3 primaries in the town, 912 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 2 secondaries in the town, 260 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Leek’s built-up area.
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table. The 4 secondaries are named.
Staffordshire County Council handles applications for every state school in Leek, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 4 of Leek’s 10 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Useful: Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) · Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK) · How admissions criteria work
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 2 schools are at or over it.
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 0 of Leek’s 12 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
| Run by | Schools | Pupils | Their letters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talentum Learning TrustWestwood College, Churnet View Middle, Leek High, Westwood First, All Saints, Beresford Memorial, Leek First | 7 | 2,201 | C−DD− |
| Manor Hall Academy TrustThe Meadows, Springfield | 2 | 202 | — |
| St Edward's Church of England Academy Trust, LeekSt Edward's | 1 | 662 | B− |
| St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy TrustSt Mary's | 1 | 179 | A |
| St Bart's Multi Academy TrustWoodcroft | 1 | 138 | — |
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
2 of Leek’s 4 state secondaries have sixth forms: Leek High and Westwood College. The nearest college is Stoke-on-Trent College, a further-education college 9.1 miles away.
| College | Distance |
|---|---|
| Stoke-on-Trent CollegeFurther-education college · ST4 2DG | 9.1 mi |
| Newcastle and Stafford Colleges GroupFurther-education college · ST5 2GB | 10.8 mi |
Leek has 2 special schools (Springfield and The Meadows: 202 pupils). A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Staffordshire County Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Staffordshire County Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Leek, and the top and bottom of the group.
| # | Town | Schools | KS2 | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ E&M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amersham Buckinghamshire | A+ | 79% | 64.3 | 83% |
| … | |||||
| 249 | Royston Hertfordshire | C− | 56% | 42.8 | 34% |
| 250 | Heanor Derbyshire | C− | 55% | 41.4 | 39% |
| 251 | Retford Nottinghamshire | C− | 53% | 41.9 | 41% |
| 252 | Lee-on-the-Solent Hampshire | C− | 57% | 40.4 | 35% |
| 253 | Leek Staffordshire | C− | 58% | 39.2 | 31% |
| 254 | Cradley Heath West Midlands | D | 55% | 42.1 | 36% |
| 255 | Coseley West Midlands | D | 55% | 41.5 | 36% |
| 256 | Blaby and Whetstone Leicestershire | D | 56% | 40.8 | 34% |
| 257 | Littlehampton West Sussex | D | 56% | 38.9 | 35% |
| … | |||||
| 277 | March Cambridgeshire | D− | 45% | 36.7 | 30% |
Coloured by School Grade.
| Town | Schools | KS2 | Att. 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leek 12 schools | C− | 58% | 39.2 |
| Cheddleton 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 2.8 mi | C+ | 63% | 41.8 |
| Endon 3 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 4.3 mi | B+ | 69% | 45 |
| Biddulph Moor 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.9 mi | B | 66% | 46 |
| Brown Edge 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5 mi | B | 64% | 45.4 |
| Biddulph 8 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.1 mi | C+ | 66% | 40.8 |
| Werrington 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.3 mi | D | 53% | 35.7 |
| Harriseahead, Mow Cop and Newchapel 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 7.7 mi | B− | 70% | 40.1 |
Endon has the best-graded schools nearby (B+). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
Leek’s state schools earn a C− against schools across England: primary results beat 31% of towns in England; secondary results beat 10% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Staffordshire council.
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Westwood College: Attainment 8 of 40.5 and 36% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
2 of 4 do.
Through Staffordshire County Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
2 of 10 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
12 open state-funded schools are located in Leek’s built-up area: 6 primary, 4 secondary and 2 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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