Stockport Academy

Stockport Academy is a caring, aspirational secondary school where pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from strong pastoral support and respectful relationships. Behaviour is extremely good, pupils learn without distraction in calm corridors and classrooms, and the school's house system reflects high ambitions for pupils. The school is part of the United Learning Trust and was previously judged good; this graded inspection found it performing well across the key judgements, with effective safeguarding.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from high-quality pastoral support.
• Behaviour is extremely good and pupils learn free from distraction in calm environments.
• The curriculum has been strengthened with clear essential knowledge and improved Year 11 outcomes in 2024.
• Passionate teachers with secure subject knowledge explain ideas clearly.
• Reading support helps struggling pupils build fluency and confidence.
• Pupils embrace the values of ambition, respect and community and take up many leadership roles.
• Personal development is rich, with strong careers guidance and university visits.
• Governance and trust support are strong, with skilled challenge and clear oversight.
• Staff workload has been considered during change, including additional curriculum time.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment checks are not used consistently well to help pupils embed and apply knowledge.
• Some teachers do not use information about pupils' prior knowledge well enough to design practice activities.
• In some subjects, SEND information is not used effectively to adapt learning, hindering access and achievement.
• A small group of disadvantaged pupils attend school less frequently.
• Some pupils are not given enough opportunity to consolidate their learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Stockport Academy attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.6% of pupils at Stockport Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Stockport Academy had 14.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.8% of pupils at Stockport Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Stockport Academy received £8,860 and spent £8,461 for each of its 1,012 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £904,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stockport · Stockport local authority: places and applications

Stockport Academy is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• William Hulme's Grammar School Manchester
• Abbey Hey Primary Academy Manchester
• Manchester Academy Manchester
• Sale High School Sale
• The Albion Academy Salford
• Marlborough Road Academy Salford
• Brentnall Academy Salford
• Cravenwood Primary Academy Manchester
• Salford City Academy Manchester
• Irlam and Cadishead Academy Manchester

What is Stockport Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stockport Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Stockport Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Stockport Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Stockport Academy have?

Stockport Academy has 1,023 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stockport Academy cover?

Stockport Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Stockport Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.5, and 57% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Stockport Academy?

Stockport Academy is at Heathbank Road, Cheadle Heath, Stockport, Cheshire, SK3 0UP.