The Barlow RC High School
Secondary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 11–16 · Manchester
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Manchester City Council · offers on 2 March 2026
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
The Barlow RC High School is a secondary school in Manchester for ages 11–16 (voluntary aided school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 12 June 2024. Manchester has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2026 entry.
The Barlow RC High School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- For Year 7 2026 there were 155 first-choice applications for 169 offers; 142 offers went to first-choice families and 13 first-choice families (8%) were not offered a place.
- No last distance was published for Year 7 2026 admissions.
- 2024/25: 53% got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), the 2nd highest of 9 schools: this one and the 8 nearest secondary schools in Manchester.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Manchester schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Parrs Wood Road, East Didsbury, Manchester, M20 6BX
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Sector
- State-funded
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- Manchester
- Pupils on roll
- 930 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 39.5% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.5
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 12 June 2024
Strengths
- “This is a welcoming school where pupils’ differences are celebrated.”
- “Pupils and staff are accepting of everyone.”
- “Parents and carers said that the school is a family where there are lots of opportunities for their children to grow.”
To improve
- “However, on occasion, some teachers do not make sure that pupils have secured the important knowledge that they need before introducing new information.”
- “This results in some pupils developing gaps in their learning, which hinders their achievement.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 17 July 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 53% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 49.8 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 155 first-preference applications, 169 offers in total, 142 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Manchester.
- Parrs Wood High School 0.6 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Burnage Academy for Boys 1.1 mi School remains Outstanding Last distance published
- Didsbury High School 1.6 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Levenshulme High School 1.8 mi School remains Outstanding Last distance published
- Loreto High School Chorlton 2.1 mi Requires improvement Last distance published
- Whalley Range 11-18 High School 2.2 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- CHS South 2.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Manchester Enterprise Academy Central 2.2 mi Good Last distance published