Balshaw's Church of England High School
| Postal address | Church Road Leyland PR25 3AH |
|---|---|
| Telephone | 01772 421009 |
| Headteacher | Mr S Haycocks |
| Number on roll January 2025 | 936 |
| Admission number 2026/27 | 185 |
Information relating to autumn term 2025 year 7 admissions
Total parental preferences (considered equally)
| 1st | 221 |
|---|---|
| 2nd | 235 |
| 3rd | 180 |
| Total preferences received | 622 |
Total preferences received
Initial allocation under each criterion:
| Education, Health & Care Plan | 2 |
|---|---|
| LAC and previously Looked After | 7 |
| Social/Medical/Welfare | 0 |
| In GPA with Sibling | 56 |
| In GPA no sibling | 120 |
| Out GPA with sibling | 0 |
| Out GPA no sibling | 0 |
| LA Allocated | 0 |
| Total | 186 |
Summary of policy
This is a voluntary controlled school. Please see the full admission details on our website - admissions criteria for community and voluntary controlled secondary schools.
To apply for a place at this school, please apply online.
When a secondary school is oversubscribed the following priorities apply in order:
- Looked after children or a child who was previously looked after, but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangement order, or special guardianship order or those children who appear to the school to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted, then
- Children for whom the Local Authority accepts that there are exceptional medical social or welfare reasons which are directly relevant to the school concerned, then
- Children eligible for Services Premium, then
- Children living within the school's geographical priority area with older brothers and sisters attending the school when the younger child will start.
- Children living within the school's geographical priority area, then
- Children living outside the school's geographical priority area with older brothers or sisters still attending the school when the younger child will start, then
- Children living outside the school's geographical priority area.
The distance criterion which will be used as the tie breaker if there is oversubscription within any of the admission criteria is a straight line (radial) measure. If the Local Authority is unable to distinguish between applicants using the published criteria (e.g. twins or same block of flats), places will be offered via a random draw.
The distance measure is a straight line (radial) measure centre of building to centre of building.
Geographical priority area
Parishes of Brindle (part of*), Clayton-le-Woods, Cuerden, Euxton (part of**) and Leyland (part of***)
*The part of the parish to the south of the M65 motorway
**The part of the parish to the north of the Chorley to Manchester railway line
***The area to the east of Worden Lane, St Andrews Way and Towngate. The area to the south of King Street and Leyland Way
Change to geographical priority area
On 3 October 2025 we published an updated geographical priority area for Balshaw’s Church of England High School.
This means if you live in Buckshaw Village, you may now be included in the revised GPA for Balshaw’s.
This could improve your child’s chances of gaining a place at the school.
You can still apply to any school, even if you’re not in its GPA, but being in the GPA may give your child higher priority.
You can view the new GPA on the following document:
Balshaws Ce High School GPA (PDF 333 KB)
For more information you can also attend school open evenings and speak to admissions officers or contact the School Admissions Team by phone 01772 532109 or email southadmissions@lancashire.gov.uk for personalised advice.
Why a change has been made
An independent adjudicator reviewed the school’s admission arrangements after a parent raised concerns about the Geographical Priority Area (GPA). The adjudicator found that:
- The GPA map was unclear, making it difficult for families to know whether they were in or out of catchment.
- The GPA had not been updated in over 15 years, despite significant changes in local housing and school demand.
- Families in Buckshaw Village were disadvantaged, as they were excluded from Balshaw’s GPA despite living closer to the school than many in-GPA families.
- The admission arrangements were found to require updating and the Local Authority must revise the GPA by 3 October 2025.
Transport
Please see the main school admissions section.
Parents in any doubt over the distance between home and school for the provision of transport are asked to check with their local area education office. This may be particularly relevant if you live close to a county border.