Fulwood Academy

Fulwood Academy has demonstrated good overall effectiveness in its recent inspection, marking a significant improvement from its previous grade of requires improvement. The school creates a positive and respectful environment where pupils feel safe and happy, demonstrating calm and polite behavior. The leadership team has effectively cultivated strong relationships between staff and pupils, and the school prioritizes inclusivity, supporting all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). With an ambitious curriculum in place, the majority of pupils are achieving well, and there are numerous opportunities for personal development and responsibility.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• Effective leadership fostering an inclusive culture
• Ambitious curriculum with a focus on the English Baccalaureate
• Wide range of extracurricular activities
• Effective strategies for supporting less confident readers
• Strong commitment to safeguarding

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum finalization needed in a small number of subjects

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 Fulwood Academy attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.4% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Fulwood Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Fulwood Academy had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.0% 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, 15.3% of pupils at Fulwood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% 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 Fulwood Academy received £8,419 and spent £7,695 for each of its 942 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,445,000 (£1,534 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Fulwood Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fulwood Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Fulwood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Fulwood Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Fulwood Academy have?

Fulwood Academy has 973 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fulwood Academy cover?

Fulwood Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Fulwood Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.8, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Fulwood Academy?

Fulwood Academy is at Black Bull Lane, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9YR.