Marsden Heights Community College
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Lancashire
Edge End Lane, Nelson, BB9 0PR
57
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 03/10/2023
Application demand
85%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
92.1%
21.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,047
Capacity used
Over capacity100%
1,050 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
85%
1st preference success rate
192 of 227 families who put it first got an offer
207
Places offered
479
Total applications
2.3
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 227 | 192 | ● 85% |
| 2nd preference | 148 | 13 | ● 9% |
| 3rd preference | 103 | 2 | ● 2% |
| Later preferences | 1 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 479 | 207 | 43% |
1st preference success by year
Lancashire lets families list 3 preferences. Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- James Delve
- Address
- Edge End Lane, Nelson, BB9 0PR
- Phone
- 01282683060
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward / constituency
- Whitefield & Walverden · Pendle and Clitheroe
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 146276
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 35% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 95% | — | — |
| SEN support | 17% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: UNITED LEARNING TRUST
1,047 pupils · 1,050 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
03 October 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,075 pupils
Attendance
92.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.5%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 40.1 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.14 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 34% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 58% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.44 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 40.3 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 33.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 53.8% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 15.7% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.35 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 210 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 209 | 6% | 34% | 54% | |
| Mathematics | 208 | 10% | 43% | 65% | |
| English Literature | 208 | 8% | 44% | 62% | |
| Religious Studies | 204 | 4% | 29% | 46% | |
| Combined Science | 154 | 1% | 16% | 36% | |
| Art and Design | 114 | 4% | 28% | 65% | |
| Spanish | 91 | 14% | 40% | 56% | |
| History | 78 | 8% | 22% | 28% | |
| Biology | 53 | 25% | 77% | 91% | |
| Physics | 53 | 28% | 74% | 89% | |
| Chemistry | 53 | 25% | 79% | 89% | |
| Social Studies | 50 | 12% | 30% | 42% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Lancashire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.