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Balshaw’s Church of England High School is a school with long traditions and a reputation second to none for academic excellence. The original school was founded by a local businessman, Richard Balshaw, in 1782. The present building dates from 1931 with major additions of facilities completed in 1984 and in 2003-05.

We have a continuing programme of expansion and modernisation to meet the twin challenges of demand for places and the present and future educational needs of our students. Our facilities include all the specialist rooms needed to meet the demands of teaching the National Curriculum, situated in a pleasant site of 23 acres of playing fields.

Some 25 subjects are taught to GCSE and other levels and a large proportion of students gain grade 4 or higher at GCSE in a selection of subjects. 98% of students stayed in education or employment in 2021 compared to 94% nationally and 93% in Lancashire.

Balshaw’s has always had a high standard of education, as can be seen from the following quote which still rings true today:

“The glossy brochure reminds us that the building ‘never fails to impress the first-time visitor’ behind its lawns and shrubberies and is a reminder that this is the former grammar school. Parents, many of them former pupils, see this as indicative of a solid, no nonsense approach to education…
It is certainly over-subscribed at present…”

P. Clarke and E. Round: Good State Schools Guide – The Only Parents Guide to the Best of State Education London : Ebury Press, 1991.