Sir John Thursby Community CollegeBurnley High School

Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Burnley.

Summary of the comparison

Sir John Thursby Community College and Burnley High School are secondary schools in Burnley.

  • Sir John Thursby Community College scores 52 out of 100 (grade D, below average) and Burnley High School scores 54 out of 100 (grade D, below average). Burnley High School is ahead on our composite score.

  • Sir John Thursby Community College was judged Good and Burnley High School was judged the expected standard.

  • On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 40.3 for Sir John Thursby Community College and 38.9 for Burnley High School.

  • GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Sir John Thursby Community College (44.5 in 2021-22, 40.3 in 2025-26) and has fallen at Burnley High School (41.9 in 2021-22, 38.9 in 2025-26).

Side-by-side comparison

Sir John Thursby Community College versus Burnley High School compared on inspection, results, pupils and attendance.
Measure BurnleySir John Thursby Community CollegeBurnleyBurnley High SchoolEngland average
Overview
Our scoreD52/100D54/100Stronger figure
Local ranking47th of 82 in Lancashire 45th of 82 in Lancashire Stronger figure
InspectionOfsted: GoodOfsted: Expected
School typeFoundation school Free schools
PhaseSecondary Secondary
Age range11-16 11-16
GenderMixed Mixed
Pupils on roll1,121 579
Capacity1,125 600
LocationBurnley, BB10 2AT Burnley, BB12 6NX
GCSE results
Attainment 840.3 Stronger figure38.9 46.2
Grade 5+ in English & maths29.2% Stronger figure28.3% 46.3%
Grade 4+ in English & maths54.8% Stronger figure46.2% 64.8%
Cohort219 106
Pupils
Pupils in the census1,118 607
Free school meals (ever 6)39.6% 40.4%
English as an additional language73.3% 6.1%
SEN support8.7% 16.3%
SEN with an EHC plan2.3% 2.3%
Attendance
Overall absence8.4% 8.0% Stronger figure6.2%
Persistent absence26.3% 23.6% Stronger figure15.8%

marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.

Historical trends

Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.

GCSE Attainment 8

GCSE Progress 8

Overall absence

Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)

Pupils on roll

Ethnicity over time

One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.

Sir John Thursby Community College

Burnley High School

Full profiles: Sir John Thursby Community College · Burnley High School