What St Ambrose Barlow does

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is a Catholic secondary school located in Swinton, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, serving students from Year 7 through Year 13 (Key Stage 3, 4, and 5). The school delivers state-funded Catholic education to pupils in its catchment area under the mission statement "Love, Learn, Lead," with no tuition fees charged to families. It operates under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Salford, with Foundation governors appointed by the Diocese sitting alongside parent, staff, and Local Authority governors on the Governing Body.

The school's offering centres on a full secondary curriculum supplemented by a structured pastoral care system built around a nine-virtues framework, a dedicated Mental Health and Wellbeing Support service (with a Lead, Deputy Lead, School Therapist, and SEMH Team), a Chaplaincy Programme, and formal safeguarding services. Its Horizons post-16 CEIAG programme achieved Inspiring IAG Gold status in 2016 and operates through structured employer encounters and partnerships with local post-16 providers. Extracurricular provision includes a steel pan band, textile club, and annual community events such as the Summer Showcase and Ambfest. The school was named the most improved school in Salford and Diocese of Salford in 2022, with continued top-two ranking in the city in 2023 and 2025.

The school's technology stack consists of a Wix-hosted public website and the School Synergy student information platform. Payment processing for school events is handled through ParentPay, event ticketing through Eventbrite, and prospective family tour bookings through Google Forms. As a state-funded Catholic school, its revenue derives from government funding via Salford City Council, with minor self-generated income from event ticketing and similar activities. There is no public API, no proprietary AI capability, and no disclosed commercial product offering beyond the school itself.

Name

St Ambrose Barlow

Legal name

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School

Website

https://stambrosebarlowswinton.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school in Swinton, Salford, serving students in Years 7-13 under the Diocese of Salford, with comprehensive pastoral, careers, and wellbeing programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Catholic secondary education
• Secondary school services
• Faith-based education
• Gcse preparation
• Post-16 careers guidance

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding: As a Catholic secondary school, St Ambrose Barlow receives government funding through the local authority (Salford City Council) for delivering state-funded education to students in years 7-13.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School is a Catholic secondary school delivering state-funded education to students in Years 7 through 13 (Key Stages 3, 4 and 5) at its Swinton, Salford campus under the trusteeship of the Diocese of Salford. The school provides a full academic curriculum including GCSE preparation, supplemented by pastoral care, mental health and wellbeing support, a chaplaincy programme, and a Gold-award-winning post-16 careers programme called Horizons. Tuition is free for all enrolled students, with funding provided through UK state education grants via Salford City Council.

Product overview

St Ambrose Barlow RC High School provides a Catholic secondary education service delivered through its core website portal (built on Wix) and the School Synergy management platform. The school's product portfolio centres on its educational programmes including a comprehensive curriculum across years 7-13 with GCSE subjects such as Computer Science, Business, and Religious Studies. Supporting services include the Horizons Post-16 Careers Programme (with Inspiring IAG Gold status), a Mental Health and Wellbeing Support system, Chaplaincy Programme, Pastoral Care and Behaviour System, and Safeguarding Services. The school also offers extracurricular activities including a Steel Pan Band and Textile Club, and hosts events such as the annual Summer Showcase. Parent communication and payments are facilitated through ParentPay, while school visits are booked via Google Forms and events ticketed through Eventbrite.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Horizons: Post-16 Careers Programme (CEIAG) A comprehensive careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) programme for pupils in Years 7–13, providing access to local employers, post-16 providers, apprenticeship information, work experience placements and career planning resources. Achieved Inspiring IAG Gold status in 2016.
• Mental Health and Wellbeing Support A mental health and wellbeing programme providing support through a dedicated team including the Lead of Mental Health and Wellbeing, Deputy Mental Health Lead, School Therapist, and SEMH Team, with access to external resources including Kooth, Samaritans, Young Minds, and 42nd Street.
• Chaplaincy Programme A spiritual guidance and worship programme including a dedicated chapel, form liturgies, masses, rosary walks, adoration, benediction and charity work. The Chaplaincy Team is coordinated by Mr R Jordan with spiritual support provided to all year groups.
• Pastoral Care and Behaviour System A comprehensive pastoral support system built around nine virtues, emphasising nurturing relationships and high expectations, including an anti-bullying policy, form time PSHE programmes and a large team of pastoral staff led by the SENDCO.
• Safeguarding and Child Protection Services Comprehensive safeguarding services including designated safeguarding leads, regular staff training, and a suite of policies covering child protection, suicide prevention, child-on-child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and the Prevent Duty.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 2 school in Salford as of 2022 with continued high performance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Tradewind RecruitmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTradewind Recruitment participated in the school's 'encounters with employers' programme, delivering sessions on agency work, recruitment, sales, soft skills development, and CV building. Students learned to identify suitable candidates and competed in team-building activities like pasta tower construction to demonstrate communication and teamwork skills.
• The Rivington and Adlington Brass BandminorOthersGuest performers at the school's Summer Showcase event, providing students with opportunities to perform alongside professional musicians and experience live music performances.
• Salford City Council - Youth Support ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe school shares information about pupils aged 16+ with the local authority and youth support services provider as required under section 507b of the Education Act 1996, to support the education and training of 13-19 year olds.
• Wardley Hall (Bishop of Salford)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Bishop of Salford's residence is located opposite the school. All pupils visit Wardley Hall to see the skull of St Ambrose Barlow (the school's patron saint) and learn about his life and legacy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Prospects (Shaw Trust): UK provider of careers education, information, advice and guidance to schools and academies. Directly comparable as an ecosystem peer given SAB's own CEIAG (Horizons) programme with Inspiring IAG Gold status.
• ParentPay: UK school payment and parent engagement platform already used by SAB. Comparable as a technology supplier tightly integrated into SAB's parent-facing operations.

Direct peers

• Wright Robinson College: Non-faith state secondary school in Manchester with strong academic profile. Comparable catchment competitor and a useful benchmark for Salford academic rankings.
• Trinity Church of England High School: Faith-based (Church of England) secondary school in Manchester. Comparable as a state-funded secondary with explicit religious character and similar pastoral/wellbeing infrastructure.
• Xaverian College: Catholic sixth form college in Manchester, directly comparable as a Catholic post-16 provider serving Salford and surrounding boroughs.
• Loreto Grammar School: Catholic grammar school for girls in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. Comparable faith-based ethos, academic focus, and parental engagement model within the same diocesan geography.
• St Peter's RC High School: Catholic secondary school in Longsight, Manchester. Closely comparable as a state-aided Catholic secondary school with similar Diocesan governance and pupil demographic.
• St Bede's College: Catholic independent secondary school in Manchester with a similar faith-based mission and broad curriculum offer. Directly comparable as another Catholic secondary school serving the Greater Manchester market.

Broad incumbents

• United Learning: Large multi-academy trust operating many primary and secondary schools across England. Comparable as a broader operator in the same state-funded secondary market, with portfolio scale that SAB does not have.
• Diocese of Salford Schools: The Diocesan body that governs multiple Catholic schools including SAB. Comparable as the umbrella organisation with shared governance, ethos oversight, and funding flows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SABSalford
• Facebookfacebook.com/SABSalford
• Instagraminstagram.com/sab_salford
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-ambrose-barlow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Ambrose Barlow