Sale High School: school finances
Large reserves
Holds £3.9m in reserve, 50% of a year's income.
Latest full year 2024-25, as a council-run school (CFR return, April–March). Trafford · Secondary · Academy converter.
Earlier years come from this school's return before it became an academy (a different DfE number).
A 2025-26 return is published too, but it covers part of a year or leaves out the income or reserve figure, so the latest complete year is shown.
Reserve at the end of each year, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income and spending, 2018-19 to 2024-25
Income Spending
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Income | Spending | Balance | Reserve | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | £4.4m | £4.2m | +£225k | £179k | 777 |
2019-20 | £5.0m | £4.5m | +£487k | £666k | 841 |
2020-21 | £5.7m | £4.9m | +£751k | £1.4m | 926 |
2021-22 | £6.2m | £5.4m | +£763k | £2.2m | 1,011 |
2022-23 | £7.1m | £6.0m | +£1.1m | £3.3m | 1,017 |
2023-24 | £7.7m | £6.8m | +£858k | £4.1m | 1,051 |
2024-25 | £7.8m | £8.1m | -£258k | £3.9m | 1,074 |
Compared with similar schools
Similar schools are the 30 secondary schools outside London closest in size and in the share of pupils on free school meals. Its reserve, as a share of income, is higher than 100% of them. It spends £7,525 a pupil in total; similar schools typically spend £7,518.
This school Middle half of similar schools Similar schools’ median
Show the comparison as a table
| Spending per pupil | This school | Similar schools (median) | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
Teachers | £3,893 | £4,416 | £4,113–£4,661 |
Support staff (e.g. TAs) | £1,338 | £794 | £572–£943 |
Supply staff | £169 | £112 | £59–£188 |
Admin and clerical | £544 | £400 | £354–£470 |
Premises | £417 | £408 | £343–£517 |
Energy | £134 | £137 | £123–£173 |
Learning resources & ICT | £339 | £485 | £416–£526 |
Bought-in services | £272 | £113 | £59–£242 |
Compare side by side with the 3 most similar schools
Which schools are these?
- Teign School Tight
- Chilwell School Large reserves
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Large reserves
- St Joseph's RC High School Large reserves
- St Mark's West Essex Catholic School Large reserves
- Maghull High School Healthy
- St Thomas More Catholic Academy and Sixth Form College Large reserves
- The Blandford School Large reserves
- St Bede's Roman Catholic High School, Blackburn Large reserves
- Eaton Bank Academy Large reserves
- Sawtry Village Academy Healthy
- Greenbank High School Healthy
Where the money comes from, 2024-25
| Source | Amount | Per pupil |
|---|---|---|
Government grants | £8.1m | £7,584 |
SEN funding (part of grants) | £341k | £318 |
Pupil premium (part of grants) | £322k | £300 |
Self-generated (lettings, catering, donations) | £294k | £274 |
Questions to ask the school
Useful for parents, governors and PTA committees.
- What are the reserves set aside for, and when will they be spent on current pupils?
- Could any of the surplus be clawed back under the council's scheme for financing schools?
- Spending on bought-in services is £272 a pupil, against a typical £113 for similar schools. What's behind that?
- Spending on support staff (e.g. tas) is £1,338 a pupil, against a typical £794 for similar schools. What's behind that?
- Spending on admin and clerical is £544 a pupil, against a typical £400 for similar schools. What's behind that?
Check these figures
Every figure here comes from the school's published return to the DfE. Check it on the DfE benchmarking page for this school, and see how the status is worked out.
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