Philips - one of Bury's best schools
Philips High School is now one of the best performing comprehensive secondary schools in Bury and the North West. Figures from the Department for Education show the Whitefield school has achieved its best-ever GCSE results in 2025.
More than half of the school’s Year 11 cohort – 55% – earned a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, up by 10% compared to 2024 and significantly above the national average of 45%. The results reflect year-on-year progress under a new school improvement plan led by headteacher Chris Hibbert and supported by Oak Learning Partnership.
Chris took on the role as head in September 2024 and has focused on what he calls the “three pillars of learning” – high standards, behaviour and curriculum. “I’m incredibly proud of our pupils and staff” he said. “This success belongs to our whole school community. We’ve worked hard to raise expectations and create an environment where every child can thrive.”
Since joining Oak Learning Partnership, Philips has received additional support to embed effective policies, refine classroom practice and strengthen leadership. The trust’s emphasis on inclusion and collaboration has played a key part in the school’s transformation.
How we achieved this
A clear and consistent behaviour policy has been rolled out to help reduce low-level behaviour. This applies throughout school, both inside and outside the classroom, to ensure pupils can focus on learning. A strong focus on high uniform standards has also been implemented, with the introduction of a uniform shop before school to reduce the disparity with what students wear.
A robust approach to tracking pupil outcomes has also been implemented to make sure timely intervention is put in place when needed, ensuring all learners can reach their potential.
The curriculum has undergone a full review, with new academic and pastoral support introduced where it’s needed most.
A major success so far has been the launch of a literacy strategy that’s boosted reading ages across the school, opening up learning to more pupils. By making the curriculum more inclusive, we have created an increased sense of enjoyment in class and more freedom of choice when it comes to subject options.
We've introduced a relentless focus on giving teachers and support staff the best professional development to equip them with the tools to teach at the highest standards. This has been central to the improvements. We also place a larger emphasis on sharing expertise with other schools in the trust and harnessing the benefits that being part of a trust can bring.
