Welcome to Greenshaw High School, a school at which I am very proud to have worked at for the last two decades. I am delighted at how hard our students and staff work to ensure the best academic results, while I am equally proud that we have happy students and staff in our school. Our school being successful is pinned on the twin aims of strong wellbeing and academic excellence. This is not an ‘either, or’ – both are central to day-to-day life at Greenshaw High School.

We aim to give our youngest students a firm foundation of knowledge, before their formal examination courses begin. We teach our students in Year 7 to 9 The Big Ideas that Shaped the World, a sequence of lessons that explains cultural, philosophical and political development from ancient times to today. Alongside this, students in Year 7 to 10 follow a reading programme that, alongside the English curriculum, develops our young people's awareness of a range of literary themes and voices. We strongly believe it is our responsibility to develop the wider intellect, and in doing so, this deepens the knowledge displayed in public examinations.

At Greenshaw High School over the last three years, our Year 11 results have always been in the top 20% of all schools (and for two of those years the top 10%), in the whole country. This was recognised by Ofsted when they visited, grading our ‘Quality of Education’ as Outstanding.

In August 2025, Greenshaw students did better in almost every area than in 2024, which was in itself a very impressive year. For example, in English nearly 9 out of 10 students achieved at least a grade 4 (the previous ‘grade C’). In Maths, well over 1 out of 3 students achieved a grade 7 or better (the previous ‘grade A’). As a school that values learning across the full range of subjects, it is really important that our students have also excelled in a broad range of sciences, humanities and creative and performing arts.

The country’s GCSE students of 2025 did not complete primary school in the normal way, and then had to start secondary school in ‘bubbles’.  Without the benefit of the normal experience of school transition, they achieved amazing results at GCSE. We are in awe of the way our students committed to their GCSE studies.

Year 13 students at Greenshaw also had some superb results from their A Level exams, absolutely underscoring this year’s Ofsted grade of ‘Outstanding’ for our Sixth Form.

Some of the key highlights from this summer’s A Level exams include:

• More than one in three A Level subjects sat were passed at A* or A. This is the highest ever proportion of the top grades in the school’s history. 

• Two thirds of all A Level grades were passed at grades between A* to B. This is the second highest in the school’s history.

• 37 of our students (one fifth of our total entry) achieved at least three A Levels at A* or A. 

The outcomes for these students have enabled them to progress to a wide range of university courses, including six going on to medical degrees. Nearly 50 of our students have been accepted to study undergraduate courses at Russell Group universities (the most prestigious universities), including Cambridge. 

As well as Sixth Form students using their A Level grades for access to higher education, we are equally pleased that a number of our eighteen-year-olds are moving on to internships and higher level apprenticeships.

Alongside the pursuit of academic excellence, we also have a key role in our students being happy and successful members of society. We do not want great exam results to come at the cost of young people’s wellbeing. All staff are aware of the importance of promoting student welfare, and we maintain a department of non-teaching staff to support students with mental health and wellbeing. I also believe that happiness comes from feeling engaged with your community and knowing that you are making a positive contribution. Students in our school have volunteered at food banks, collected items for a women’s refuge and raised funds for a cancer charity, all in Sutton. More widely, we have committed to global development with biennial expeditions overseas. Students and staff also support others around the world, like when we built community facilities in Zambia. We are planning a return trip next year with a group of staff and Sixth Form students. 

So, at Greenshaw High School we are committed to excellence in all aspects of students’ school life, whether academic, social or personal. This combination embodies the true values of education and underpins all aspects of our work.

Mr Nick House, Headteacher

“I just want to say a huge thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the education you have provided for our son. Given the challenges all the children faced in these past few years, we couldn't be happier with our son's GCSE results. When we first heard you at open evening, you talked about how you celebrate every child's success, and we feel that has been the case. We want to take this opportunity to thank every single staff member who made an impact and got him the results he deserved.” – a parent