Alder Community High School
Community school · 912 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.6
Free schools
Laurus Ryecroft
- Pupils on roll
- 1,153of 1,350 places
- Free school meals
- 38.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 208
- Ofsted
- Outstanding, 25 January 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 152 pupils who finished Year 11 at Laurus Ryecroft in 2023, 22% stayed on in Laurus Ryecroft’s own sixth form (Tameside average 3%), 38% went to a further education college and 4% started an apprenticeship.
Media Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 21% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 51.6 against 46.1 across England and 43.6 in Tameside, with 51% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Nearly everyone studies a modern language to GCSE (Spanish, French entries add up to 97% of the cohort), which is rare outside selective and independent schools.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Tameside and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Laurus Ryecroft | Tameside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 152 | 2,864 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 83% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 22% | 3% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 22% | 36% | 13% |
| — further education college | 38% | 43% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Laurus Ryecroft | Tameside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 51.6 | 43.6 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 41% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 66% | 35% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.76 | 3.81 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 34% | 35% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 44.2 | 35.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 55.3 | 47.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 12% | 15% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 207 | 100% | 89% | 21% | 20% | 75% |
| Mathematics | 207 | 100% | 88% | 28% | 22% | 79% |
| English Literature | 205 | 99% | 86% | 24% | 21% | 79% |
| Spanish | 190 | 91% | 19% | 32% | 27% | 77% |
| Combined Science | 143 | 69% | 65% | 14% | 9% | 59% |
| History | 86 | 41% | 41% | 30% | 26% | 72% |
| Geography | 69 | 33% | 41% | 20% | 25% | 62% |
| Chemistry | 61 | 29% | 23% | 28% | 47% | 90% |
| Biology | 61 | 29% | 23% | 33% | 45% | 95% |
| Physics | 61 | 29% | 23% | 25% | 46% | 93% |
| Religious Studies | 46 | 22% | 31% | 50% | 32% | 89% |
| Media Studies | 44 | 21% | 4% | 7% | 20% | 59% |
| Fine Art | 40 | 19% | 9% | 15% | 28% | 90% |
| Computer Science | 32 | 15% | 13% | 47% | 30% | 88% |
| Business Studies | 29 | 14% | 18% | 34% | 20% | 86% |
| Drama | 18 | 9% | 7% | 50% | 27% | 94% |
| Music | 17 | 8% | 5% | 12% | 33% | 71% |
| Design and Technology | 15 | 7% | 11% | 13% | 23% | 53% |
| Physical Education | 12 | 6% | 11% | 33% | 24% | 92% |
| French | 12 | 6% | 18% | 75% | 29% | 92% |
| Chinese | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Persian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 35 | 92% | — |
| Health Studies | 31 | 82% | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 23 | 61% | — |
| Engineering Studies | 19 | 50% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | Laurus Ryecroft | Tameside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 77 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 38 | 989 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 35.46 | 33.64 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 16% | 9% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 16 | 42% | 23% |
| History | 15 | 39% | 13% |
| Biology | 14 | 37% | 20% |
| Mathematics | 12 | 32% | 31% |
| Chemistry | 10 | 26% | 17% |
| Philosophy | 9 | 24% | 1% |
| English Literature | 7 | 18% | 11% |
| Business Studies | — | — | 13% |
| Further Mathematics | — | — | 5% |
| Media Studies | — | — | 4% |
| Physical Education | — | — | 3% |
| Geography | — | — | 10% |
| Polish | — | — | 0% |
| Spanish | — | — | 2% |
| Physics | — | — | 12% |
| Computer Science | — | — | 5% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 17 | 45% | — |
| Mathematical Studies | Core Maths Qualifications at Level 3 | 10 | 26% | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | 6 | 16% | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Tameside
All Saints Catholic College
Academy converter · 810 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.5
Audenshaw School
Academy converter · 1,077 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Denton Community Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,107 pupils
73% stayed in education
Dixons Ashton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,326 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.1
Dixons Pennine Academy
Academy converter · 592 pupils
75% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.8
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.