Schools in Cheshire East
175 schools in the Cheshire East local authority.
Schools
175
Open schools
Pupils
60,016
2025–26 census
Good or better
93%
126 of 136 graded
Academic Performance
5.2
out of 10 · 158 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 13 10%
- Good
- 113 83%
- Requires improvement
- 9 7%
- Inadequate
- 1 <1%
11 inspected since 2024, no overall grade11 superseded by a report card28 not judged2 in a category of concern1 safeguarding not effective
5.2
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 158 of 175 schools that can be scored
Pupils
60,016
pupils on roll
Boys 51%49% Girls
Roll from 173 of 175 schools (60,016 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
85%Asian
4%Black
2%Mixed
5%Chinese
1%Any other group
<1%Unclassified
2%Ethnicity from 154 of 175 schools (56,906 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 17.2%
- First language not English
- 10.6%
- Young carers
- 1.6%
9,765 of 56,906 pupils · 154 of 175 schools
6,018 of 56,906 pupils · 154 of 175 schools
888 of 56,837 pupils · 153 of 175 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 127
- Secondary
- 24
- All-through
- 3
- Special
- 10
- Nursery
- 1
- PRU
- 2
- Not recorded
- 8
Top primary schools in Cheshire East
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Ashdene Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary10.0/10Outstanding
- 2.Rode Heath Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 3.Peover Superior Endowed Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 4.The Dingle Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 5.Gorsey Bank Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 6.Vernon Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 7.Ash Grove AcademyCheshire East · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 8.Handforth Grange Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 9.St Gabriel's Catholic Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 10.Wistaston AcademyCheshire East · Primary9.2/10Outstanding
- 11.Adlington Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.0/10
- 12.Bexton Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary9.0/10Good
- 13.Wistaston Church Lane AcademyCheshire East · Primary9.0/10Good
- 14.Calveley Primary AcademyCheshire East · Primary8.9/10
- 15.Egerton Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary8.9/10Good
- 16.Lacey Green Primary AcademyCheshire East · Primary8.9/10Good
- 17.Bridgemere CofE Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary8.8/10Good
- 18.Smallwood CofE Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary8.6/10Good
- 19.Weston Village Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary8.5/10Good
- 20.Prestbury CofE Primary SchoolCheshire East · Primary8.4/10Good
Top secondary schools in Cheshire East
The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Knutsford AcademyCheshire East · Secondary8.5/10Good
- 2.Sandbach High School and Sixth Form CollegeCheshire East · Secondary8.4/10Good
- 3.Poynton High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary7.9/10Good
- 4.The Fallibroome AcademyCheshire East · Secondary7.9/10Good
- 5.Alsager SchoolCheshire East · Secondary7.8/10Good
- 6.Wilmslow High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary7.7/10Good
- 7.All Hallows Catholic CollegeCheshire East · Secondary7.6/10
- 8.Tytherington SchoolCheshire East · Secondary7.6/10Good
- 9.Brine Leas SchoolCheshire East · Secondary7.4/10Good
- 10.Sandbach SchoolCheshire East · Secondary6.9/10
- 11.St Thomas More Catholic High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary6.8/10
- 12.Holmes Chapel Comprehensive SchoolCheshire East · Secondary6.3/10Good
- 13.Shavington AcademyCheshire East · Secondary6.1/10Good
- 14.Eaton Bank AcademyCheshire East · Secondary6.0/10
- 15.Malbank School and Sixth Form CollegeCheshire East · Secondary5.5/10Good
- 16.Congleton High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary4.0/10Good
- 17.Middlewich High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary2.9/10Good
- 18.Ruskin Community High SchoolCheshire East · Secondary1.7/10Good
- 19.Crewe Engineering and Design UTCCheshire East · Secondary1.3/10
- 20.The Oaks AcademyCheshire East · Secondary1.3/10Good
Browse all 175 schools in Cheshire East — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Cheshire East
- How many schools are there in Cheshire East?
- Cheshire East has 175 open schools — 127 primary, 24 secondary, 10 special, 1 nursery, teaching 60,016 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Cheshire East are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 126 of the 136 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 93% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 13 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 175: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Cheshire East?
- 5.2 out of 10, averaged across the 158 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Cheshire East schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 39 schools in Cheshire East currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Cheshire East local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Cheshire East covers 175 schools and sits in the North West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Cheshire East are eligible for free school meals?
- 17.2% — 9,765 of 56,906 pupils at the 154 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North West region.