A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Rochdale at a glance
How Rochdale's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
69 mainstream schools in Rochdale, best first
Results well above the England average.
43 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
74 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
68 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1168%
England 62%
13 mainstream schools in Rochdale, best first
Results above the England average.
277 first choices, 262 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.6
England 46.2
Heywood, OL10 2AA · State · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Results above the England average.
181 first choices, 142 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.8
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
275 first choices, 201 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.0
England 46.2
84 in Rochdale, highest Ofsted grade first
Middleton, Manchester, M24 2PB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Manchester, M24 5NN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Manchester, M24 4AD · State · Nursery · Ages 3 to 4
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
5 in Rochdale, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
275 first choices, 201 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.0
England 46.2
Rochdale, OL12 6HY · Academy · Sixth Form · Ages 16 to 19
No published results yet.
Rochdale, OL11 5EW · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
11 in Rochdale. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Royton, OL16 3NP · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Rochdale, OL12 9HJ · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Rochdale, OL12 6LN · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
13 in Rochdale. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Rochdale, OL11 4JQ · Independent · All-through · Ages 2 to 16
Independent school. Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1644.4
England 46.2
Royton, OL16 3NP · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Rochdale, OL12 9HJ · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Rochdale is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 69 mainstream primary schools and 13 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood. 86.8% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Rochdale council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: school.admissions@rochdale.gov.uk · 0300 303 0340
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
89.2%got their first-choice primary school in Rochdale in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 124 of 151 councils. 97.3% got one of their top three.3.6% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
86.8%got their first-choice secondary school in Rochdale in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 63 of 151 councils. 96.5% got one of their top three.10.0% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
4 of 87 primary appeals heard in Rochdale succeeded in 2025. 14 of 100 secondary appeals heard in Rochdale succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 3 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Rochdale school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 69 inspected are Good or better.
84nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
94% Good or better. 58% met the standard at 11.
81schools
Ages 11 to 16
7 Good, 2 need to improve. 40% got grade 5 in English and maths.
26schools
All 7 inspected are Good or better. About 8 pupils per teacher.
11schools
Here's how Rochdale's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Rochdale average, 42.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
RochdaleEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 54 primaries with one.
94%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
7 of the 9 with a grade.
78%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
58%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
40%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
20%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
31%
Latest graded inspection for the 76 schools that have one.
91%
Good or Outstanding
Rochdale in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Rochdale | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 91% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 58% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 20% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.1:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,018 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 64% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 22% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 28% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 34% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 354, ONS code E08000005.
Rochdale has 186 schools and nurseries across 5 towns and villages, the biggest being Rochdale, Middleton, Heywood and Littleborough.
There are 6% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
31% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Rochdale's state schools each January.
Up 6% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Rochdale31%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Rochdale has 186 schools, including 81 primary schools, 26 secondary schools, 84 nurseries, 13 independent schools, 11 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Rochdale on Eduscope are All Souls Church of England Primary School, Caldershaw Primary School, Hopwood Community Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
91% of inspected schools in Rochdale hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 8 schools rated Outstanding and 61 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Rochdale, 58% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Rochdale is 18.1:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Rochdale is 20.1%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 37,815 pupils enrolled across schools in Rochdale, with 22,578 in primary and 15,116 in secondary. 33.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 13 independent schools in Rochdale. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Rochdale on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 186 schools in Rochdale by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
