Bradford Academy

Bradford Academy is an inclusive all-through school where pupils feel valued and happy, and staff and pupils are proud of the improvements made since the previous inspection. Behaviour has improved dramatically, pupils are polite and respectful, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school offers a rich curriculum, strong reading and phonics provision, well-designed early years experiences, and a wide extracurricular and careers programme. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported, including through on-site provision, and sixth-form students value the individual support they receive.

Strengths

• Pupils feel valued and happy in an inclusive school community
• Staff and pupils are proud of improvements since the last inspection
• Reading and phonics are taught expertly, with prompt help for pupils who struggle
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and thrive alongside their peers
• Behaviour is commendable and disruptions in lessons have reduced
• Early years children are curious learners who explore and develop ideas well
• Pupils benefit from an exciting extracurricular programme and strong careers education
• Sixth-form students receive caring individual support and access inclusive learning experiences
• Governors are skilled and knowledgeable, and staff value the school’s commitment to workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers’ approaches sometimes differ from leaders’ expectations, creating uneven curriculum delivery
• Aspects of planned curriculum content are not consistently delivered to a high standard
• Pupils do not always learn and achieve as well as they should because of inconsistent curriculum delivery
• Year 11 exam results in 2024 were below national expectations
• Some pupils, especially in specific year groups, continue to miss too many days of school
• Attendance remains a concern despite improvements and the school’s strategies

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 Bradford Academy attended 86.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.5% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Bradford Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Bradford Academy had 13.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Bradford Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 45 pupils.

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 Bradford Academy received £8,987 and spent £9,129 for each of its 1,659 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,494,000 (£1,503 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

What is Bradford Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bradford Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Bradford Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Bradford Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Bradford Academy have?

Bradford Academy has 1,549 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bradford Academy cover?

Bradford Academy for pupils aged 2 to 19.

What are Bradford Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.2, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Bradford Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bradford Academy?

Bradford Academy is at Lister Avenue, Bradford, BD4 7QS.