Which school has the best GCSE results in Cheshire West and Chester?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College tops the table in Cheshire West and Chester with 57.5, against an England average of 46.2. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Cheshire West and Chester schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2026 results, the 2025/26 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

Why does a school in Cheshire West and Chester show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Cheshire West and Chester GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

20 state secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, cohort size for each school against the England average. 7 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Local Authority 20 state secondary schools 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester ranked on Attainment 8

20 of 20 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1	Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College Tarporley · Academy converter	57.5	26%	66%	83%	–	206
2= , up 1 place since 2025	Bishop Heber High School Malpas · Foundation school	54.6	20%	65%	82%	–	206
2= , up 7 places since 2025	Upton-by-Chester High School Chester · Foundation school	54.6	19%	52%	78%	–	277
4 , down 1 place since 2025	The Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School Chester · Academy converter	53.7	18%	58%	78%	–	196
5 , up 2 places since 2025	Weaverham High School Northwich · Academy converter	53.5	22%	59%	76%	–	229
6 , down 4 places since 2025	Christleton High School Chester · Academy converter	52.4	16%	55%	79%	–	212
7 , down 2 places since 2025	The County High School, Leftwich Northwich · Academy converter	50.1	20%	52%	69%	–	209
8=	Hartford Church of England High School Northwich · Voluntary aided school	49.7	20%	60%	76%	–	215
8= , down 2 places since 2025	St Nicholas Catholic High School Northwich · Voluntary aided school	49.7	15%	48%	77%	–	210
10 , up 2 places since 2025	Queen's Park High School Chester · Academy sponsor led	48.6	14%	53%	68%	–	115
11 , down 1 place since 2025	Helsby High School Frodsham · Community school	46.6	7%	47%	71%	–	194
12 , up 1 place since 2025	Neston High School Neston · Academy converter	46.2	8%	40%	64%	–	298
13 , down 2 places since 2025	The Catholic High School, Chester Chester · Academy converter	44.1	8%	36%	61%	–	116
14 , up 1 place since 2025	The Whitby High School Ellesmere Port · Foundation school	39.0	4%	32%	49%	–	267
15 , up 3 places since 2025	Chester International School Chester · Studio schools	38.5	7%	28%	62%	–	76
16 , down 2 places since 2025	Ellesmere Port Church of England College Ellesmere Port · Academy sponsor led	36.9	2%	21%	43%	–	131
17 , down 1 place since 2025	Ellesmere Port Catholic High School Ellesmere Port · Academy sponsor led	36.2	2%	18%	47%	–	163
18 , down 1 place since 2025	The Rudheath Senior Academy Northwich · Academy sponsor led	32.2	4%	19%	36%	–	115
19 , up 1 place since 2025	The Winsford Academy Winsford · Academy sponsor led	32.0	2%	19%	40%	–	217
20 , down 1 place since 2025	Blacon High School Chester · Foundation school	30.3	5%	20%	32%	–	127

Schools with the same Attainment 8 score share a rank (shown as "=").

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

Independent schools in Cheshire West and Chester with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Abbey Gate College Chester · Other independent school	55.8	60%	63
Cransley School Northwich · Other independent school	57.1	69%	32
OneSchool Global Northwich Northwich · Other independent school	2.8	0%	18
The Grange School Northwich · Other independent school	28.6	0%	129
The Hammond Chester · Other independent school	37.3	53%	30
The King's School Chester · Other independent school	16.6	0%	106
The Queen's School Chester · Other independent school	52.8	3%	38

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester on our composite score

Cheshire West and Chester GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Cheshire West and Chester with published GCSE results

More about schools in Cheshire West and Chester

Cheshire West and Chester GCSE results: common questions