Unsworth Academy

Bury · BL9 8LP

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 953 pupils, 31.4% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.6% on SEN support Behaviour 7.7% absence rate Staff 13.9% turnover Financials £7,303 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Unsworth Academy

General Information

Address: Parr Lane, Bury, BL9 8LP – View on map
Phone: 01617969820
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Martin Stewart
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 191 families put it first for 199 places – 10 for every 10 places. 99% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 199 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 14 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

953 pupils out of 935 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 299
% eligible for free school meals: 31.4%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (similar to the Bury average)
English as an additional language: 10% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.9% a year (Bury 19%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 32% moved to another school, 68% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bury: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 17 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 16 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 6 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Bury, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 12.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 52 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 23 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 17 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 14 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2019 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 45.4
Compared with the area: 1.1 points above the Bury average (44.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−0.7 points against an expected 46.1)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 63% (Bury 63%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBury averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.1 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.1 points above the Bury average (44.3).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

6th of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8

#4Woodhey High School47.3
#5St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy46.0
#6Unsworth Academy45.4
#7The Elton High School44.3
#8Manchester Mesivta School39.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy50.4
#2Philips High School50.3
#3Bury Church of England High School49.1
#4Woodhey High School47.3
#5St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy46.0
#6Unsworth Academy45.4
#7The Elton High School44.3
#8Manchester Mesivta School39.3
#9Hazel Wood High School35.7
#10Tottington High School34.9
#11The Heys School34.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 93.0%
Went into further education: 83.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
Photography
Spanish
History
Art & Design
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
D & T
Computer Science
Religious Studies
Italian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

6th of 9 secondary schools in Bury for Ofsted rating

#4The Derby High SchoolGood
#5The Heys SchoolGood
#6Unsworth AcademyGood
#7Manchester Mesivta SchoolRequires improvement
#8Philips High SchoolRequires improvement

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Hazel Wood High SchoolGood
#2Parrenthorn High SchoolGood
#3St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
#4The Derby High SchoolGood
#5The Heys SchoolGood
#6Unsworth AcademyGood
#7Manchester Mesivta SchoolRequires improvement
#8Philips High SchoolRequires improvement
#9Tottington High SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,303 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

9th of 12 secondary schools in Bury for spending per pupil

#7Woodhey High School£7,839
#8Manchester Mesivta School£7,759
#9Unsworth Academy£7,303
#10St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy£7,193
#11Bury Church of England High School£7,098

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Star Radcliffe Academy£16,725
#2The Heys School£8,492
#3Tottington High School£8,288
#4Hazel Wood High School£8,096
#5Philips High School£8,052
#6The Elton High School£7,916
#7Woodhey High School£7,839
#8Manchester Mesivta School£7,759
#9Unsworth Academy£7,303
#10St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy£7,193
#11Bury Church of England High School£7,098
#12St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy£6,861

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bury: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered