England · Grammar school
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Waterfoot · Mixed (co-educational) · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 150261)
Overview
- Address
- Glen Road, Rossendale, Waterfoot, BB4 7BJ
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Mixed (co-educational)
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,087
- Capacity
- 1,260
- Eligible for free school meals
- 7.3%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- Not yet available
- Trust
- STAR ACADEMIES
- Local authority
- Lancashire
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Partially selective area5% of Year 7 places offered in Lancashire for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Not yet available
- Qualifying score
- Not yet available
- Catchment area
- Priority by primary school attended (for all of Year 6). Area 1: 18 named Rossendale primary schools in Bacup, Rawtenstall, Waterfoot, Stacksteads, Crawshawbooth and Newchurch. Area 2: 13 named schools in Haslingden, Helmshore, Whitworth, Edenfield, Stubbins, Shawforth and Accrington (St John's Stonefold). Within each area, places go by entrance exam mark.
- Children from outside the catchment
- Sometimes: Children at other primary schools are considered after Area 1 and Area 2 children, children of staff and siblings, in order of exam mark.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 385 applicants named this school (219 as their first choice) for 181 places. 80 of 181 offers went to children living outside Lancashire.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Lancashire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 181 | 385 | 219 | 1.2 | 80 |
| Sept 2025 | 171 | 400 | 210 | 1.2 | 94 |
| Sept 2024 | 147 | 303 | 175 | 1.2 | 53 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Lancashire" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (lancashire.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates
- Test registration
- Not yet available
- Test date
- Not yet available
- Results sent to families
- Not yet available
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 September 2023
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 9 June 2026. Read the report ↗
- Achievement
- Exceptional
- Attendance and behaviour
- Exceptional
- Curriculum and teaching
- Exceptional
- Inclusion
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Exceptional
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Post-16 provision
- Exceptional
- Safeguarding
- Met
From September 2024 Ofsted no longer gives an overall grade for state schools.
Inspection history (1)
- 9 June 2026: School inspection · report
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 75.5 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 98.8% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 76.7% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 72 (2023/24) → 73.3 (2024/25) → 75.5 (2025/26).
163 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- BB4 7BJ
- Map location
- 53.69342, -2.2474
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01706234500
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.brgs.org.uk
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 150261) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026