The Barlow Roman Catholic High School 1.33

The Barlow Roman Catholic High School is a comprehensive school in Didsbury in south Manchester, England. The school is dedicated to Saint Ambrose Barlow, the local Catholic martyr and saint. The school was established in 1985 by the merger of Hollies RC High School for Girls and St Mark's RC High School for Boys.The Barlow is an inclusive Roman Catholic Secondary School in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, maintained by the Education Authority. The parish communities served by the school are St Ambrose, St Bernard's, St Bernadette's, St Catherine's and St Cuthbert's and many from outside the parishes. The school's associated primary schools are St Ambrose, St Bernard's, St Catherine's and St Cuthbert's.Exam resultsIn 2012 the school's GCSE results improved for the fourth year in succession. 95% of pupils achieved at 5 A*-C grades, including 74% with English and maths. The results placed the school as one of the highest performing secondary schools in Manchester. In July 2012, it received national recognition from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT)for achieving some of the fastest improving GCSE results in the country.Ofsted reportInspectors from the Office for Standards in Education who visited the school on 16 and 17 October 2012, praised pupils, staff and governors and stated that 'under passionate, visionary leadership, the school is going from strength-to-strength.' Inspectors reported that the school is innovative in developing the curriculum and attainment is significantly above average. Pupils achieve well because teaching is consistently good as is behaviour and the school has exemplary methods of safeguarding pupils.