Blackpool Aspire Academy

Blackpool Aspire Academy has been rated as requiring improvement overall, primarily due to weaknesses in the quality of education. While the school's leadership and personal development aspects have been rated as good, significant challenges remain, particularly regarding academic outcomes for pupils. The school faces issues with the effectiveness of its curriculum and assessment strategies, which have hindered pupils' learning, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs. Attendance also remains a concern, with some pupils missing too much school, impacting their educational experiences.

Strengths

• Pupils develop warm and caring relationships with staff.
• The school has improved its behaviour management strategies, leading to a calm and orderly environment.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, and well organized in some subjects.
• The school promotes personal development very well, preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.
• There are strong career education opportunities beginning in Year 7.
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum weaknesses have led to uneven achievement across subjects.
• Some teachers do not effectively use assessment strategies to check pupil understanding.
• Attendance rates, particularly among disadvantaged pupils, are below expectations.

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 Blackpool Aspire Academy attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.8% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Blackpool Aspire Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 9 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 Blackpool Aspire Academy had 14.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.5% 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, 15.6% of pupils at Blackpool Aspire Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 Blackpool Aspire Academy received £9,907 and spent £9,854 for each of its 841 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £932,000 (£1,108 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Fylde Coast Academy Trust, income was £8,606 and spending £8,682 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 Blackpool · Blackpool local authority: places and applications

Blackpool Aspire Academy is part of Fylde Coast Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Unity Academy Blackpool Blackpool
• Westminster Primary Academy Blackpool
• Montgomery Academy Blackpool
• Westcliff Primary Academy Blackpool
• Mereside Primary Academy Blackpool
• Blackpool Gateway Academy Blackpool
• Armfield Academy Blackpool
• Hambleton Primary Academy Poulton-Le-Fylde
• Garstang Community Academy Preston

What is Blackpool Aspire Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blackpool Aspire Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Blackpool Aspire Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Blackpool Aspire Academy was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Blackpool Aspire Academy have?

Blackpool Aspire Academy has 799 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blackpool Aspire Academy cover?

Blackpool Aspire Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Blackpool Aspire Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.7, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Blackpool Aspire Academy?

Blackpool Aspire Academy is at Blackpool Old Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY3 7LS.