Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 1,186 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.9
Academy converter
Wardle Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,366of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 30.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 233
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 20 October 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Wardle High School (URN 105852, until 1 September 2013).
What the data says
Wardle Academy has no sixth form. Of the 226 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 38% moved to a sixth form college, 50% to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 38% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 38% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 44.1 against 46.1 across England and 40.6 in Rochdale, with 39% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Rochdale and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Wardle Academy | Rochdale | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 226 | 2,791 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 96% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | — | 3% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 38% | 32% | 13% |
| — further education college | 50% | 48% | 37% |
| — other education | — | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | — | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Wardle Academy | Rochdale | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 44.1 | 40.6 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 35% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 55% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 38% | 30% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.87 | 3.47 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 32% | 40% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 36.3 | 33.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.7 | 45.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 8% | 26% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 233 | 100% | 89% | 14% | 20% | 65% |
| Mathematics | 232 | 100% | 88% | 12% | 22% | 70% |
| English Literature | 230 | 99% | 86% | 16% | 21% | 69% |
| Combined Science | 196 | 84% | 65% | 7% | 9% | 61% |
| Geography | 134 | 58% | 41% | 15% | 25% | 53% |
| History | 93 | 40% | 41% | 18% | 26% | 59% |
| Spanish | 89 | 38% | 19% | 11% | 27% | 61% |
| Business Studies | 60 | 26% | 18% | 7% | 20% | 33% |
| Physical Education | 52 | 22% | 11% | 25% | 24% | 69% |
| Computer Science | 51 | 22% | 13% | 12% | 30% | 45% |
| Citizenship Studies | 40 | 17% | 3% | 13% | 19% | 70% |
| Chemistry | 36 | 15% | 23% | 28% | 47% | 81% |
| Biology | 36 | 15% | 23% | 25% | 45% | 83% |
| Physics | 36 | 15% | 23% | 36% | 46% | 81% |
| Religious Studies | 23 | 10% | 31% | 13% | 32% | 57% |
| Fine Art | 22 | 9% | 9% | 36% | 28% | 82% |
| Textiles | 19 | 8% | 2% | 26% | 27% | 89% |
| Music | 15 | 6% | 5% | 33% | 33% | 93% |
| Drama | 12 | 5% | 7% | 33% | 27% | 75% |
| Polish | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 58 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 39 | — | — |
| Finance / Accounting (General) | 38 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 20 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 18 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 15 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Rochdale
Dixons Middleton Academy
Academy converter · 1,319 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.3
Falinge Park High School
Academy converter · 1,344 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.5
Hollingworth Academy
Academy converter · 1,331 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.1
Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College
Voluntary aided school · 768 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.4
Kingsway Park High School
Academy converter · 1,289 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.3
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.