Ormiston Chadwick Academy

Ormiston Chadwick Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all inspected areas including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school has been part of Ormiston Academies Trust and has transitioned from an outstanding grade in its previous inspection. Pupils are happy and feel safe, demonstrating positive relationships with both peers and staff, along with high expectations for their learning. However, challenges remain, particularly in terms of attendance and ensuring that all pupils connect their previous knowledge with the current curriculum demands.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive relationships with peers and staff.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Extra-curricular opportunities are diverse and well-utilized by students.
• There is a strong focus on developing pupils' vocabulary and enjoyment of reading.
• Strong pastoral support contributes to positive attitudes toward education.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge from previous curricula, hindering their learning.
• A small number of teachers do not use assessment strategies effectively to deepen pupil understanding.
• Low attendance and poor punctuality affect some pupils' educational progress.

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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy attended 87.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.1% 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, 7.9% of pupils at Ormiston Chadwick Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.4% 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, 18.9% of pupils at Ormiston Chadwick Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% 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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy received £9,250 and spent £8,963 for each of its 923 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £697,000 (£755 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Ormiston Academies Trust, income was £8,888 and spending £8,698 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 Widnes · Halton local authority: places and applications

Ormiston Chadwick Academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• Sandymoor Ormiston Academy Runcorn
• Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Runcorn
• Packmoor Ormiston Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Horizon Academy Stoke On Trent
• Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Meridian Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston NEW Academy Wolverhampton
• Brownhills Ormiston Academy Walsall
• Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Walsall
• Ormiston SWB Academy Bilston

What is Ormiston Chadwick Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ormiston Chadwick Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Ormiston Chadwick Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston Chadwick Academy was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Ormiston Chadwick Academy have?

Ormiston Chadwick Academy has 884 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston Chadwick Academy cover?

Ormiston Chadwick Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ormiston Chadwick Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.0, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston Chadwick Academy?

Ormiston Chadwick Academy is at Liverpool Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 7HU.