Discovery Academy

Discovery Academy continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in June 2019. Under the leadership of Principal Beverley Oldham and as part of the Victorious Academies Trust, the school fosters a positive and respectful environment where pupils feel safe and welcomed. The curriculum is ambitious, effectively supporting pupils' learning from early years through to Year 6, and provides ample opportunities for broader development, including various clubs and responsibilities that cultivate citizenship skills. Noteworthy strengths include strong staff-pupil relationships and effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, the school has identified areas for improvement, particularly in reading, where some pupils do not receive enough practice applying their phonics knowledge. Additionally, a few lessons could be better designed to enhance deep learning across subjects. Despite these concerns, the overall atmosphere of the school remains positive and conducive to learning.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy positive relationships with staff and peers.
• The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement.
• Pupils behave well and maintain high standards of behaviour.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-structured.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND.
• Wide range of extracurricular activities promoting personal development.
• Regular checks on pupil learning help build knowledge across most subjects.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient opportunities for some pupils to practice phonics.
• Inconsistent lesson design affecting deep learning in a few 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 Discovery Academy attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 2.7% of pupils at Discovery Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No 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 Discovery Academy had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 28.4% of pupils at Discovery Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Discovery Academy received £8,495 and spent £7,891 for each of its 219 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £404,000 (£1,847 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Victorious Academies Trust, income was £6,986 and spending £6,999 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 Hyde · Tameside local authority: places and applications

Discovery Academy is part of Victorious Academies Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Pinfold Primary School Hyde
• Arundale Primary School Hyde
• Yew Tree Primary School Dukinfield
• Wild Bank Primary School Stalybridge
• Gamesley Primary and Nursery School Glossop
• St Anne's Primary School Manchester
• Lyndhurst Primary School Dukinfield
• Poplar Street Primary School Manchester
• Inspire Academy Tameside
• Buckton Vale Primary School Stalybridge

What is Discovery Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Discovery Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Discovery Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Discovery Academy was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Discovery Academy have?

Discovery Academy has 211 pupils on roll.

What age range does Discovery Academy cover?

Discovery Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Discovery Academy?

Discovery Academy is at Discovery Academy, Porlock Avenue, Hattersley, Hyde, Cheshire, SK14 3LE.