Dixons Brooklands Academy

Dixons Brooklands Academy is a secondary comprehensive school in Wythenshawe and part of Dixons Academies Trust. This was its first section 5 inspection since joining the trust, and the school is not given an overall effectiveness grade under the current framework. Leaders have raised expectations and improved the school’s culture considerably in recent years. Most pupils are happy, feel safe and say concerns are dealt with well, while personal development and safeguarding are clear strengths. However, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management require improvement. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed and reading is prioritised, but delivery is inconsistent: some teachers move learning on too quickly, SEND support varies, and low-level disruption persists because behaviour systems are not applied consistently. Too many pupils, including some with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, are persistently absent, and 2023 Year 11 outcomes were significantly below the national average. The school is working to embed recent changes, but some parents do not yet understand the rationale for them. There are encouraging signs. The school has clear improvement priorities, effective trust support and an ambitious vision, and it has reduced suspensions while expanding enrichment, careers guidance and English Baccalaureate entry. Leaders acknowledge the work still needed and have been mindful of staff workload while pursuing improvements.

Strengths

• Clear, ambitious vision and improvement priorities, supported by the trust
• School culture and pupils’ experiences have improved considerably in recent years
• Most pupils feel safe and say concerns are dealt with well
• Curriculum is carefully designed with key concepts identified for revisiting
• Reading is a priority, with struggling readers identified swiftly and phonics support introduced
• Personal development is strong, including relationships education and high-quality enrichment
• Careers advice and guidance prepare pupils well for future courses and jobs
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Suspensions have been reduced and alternatives are used as a last resort
• Growing numbers of pupils gain qualifications in the English Baccalaureate suite
• Leaders are mindful of staff workload and openly acknowledge the challenges they face

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects and year groups
• Some teachers introduce new learning before pupils have secured prerequisite knowledge
• Whole-school strategies such as ‘do it now’ tasks sometimes lack ambition
• Some teachers do not encourage pupils to think deeply or explain their ideas
• Pupils with SEND have mixed experiences because some staff need further guidance
• Behaviour policy is not applied consistently, leading to low-level disruption
• Suspension rates remain high
• Too many pupils, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils, are persistently absent
• 2023 Year 11 outcomes were significantly below the national average
• Some parents do not recognise or understand the rationale for improvements

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 Dixons Brooklands Academy attended 83.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 40.7% 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, 23.7% of pupils at Dixons Brooklands 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 Dixons Brooklands Academy had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.0% 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, 17.4% of pupils at Dixons Brooklands Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% 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 Dixons Brooklands Academy received £10,434 and spent £9,645 for each of its 1,001 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £624,000 (£623 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Dixons Academies Trust, income was £8,572 and spending £8,488 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 Manchester · Manchester local authority: places and applications

Dixons Brooklands Academy is part of Dixons Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Dixons Newall Green Academy Manchester
• Dixons Middleton Academy Manchester
• Dixons Ashton Academy Ashton-Under-Lyne
• Dixons Silver Springs Primary Stalybridge
• Dixons Pennine Academy Stalybridge
• Dixons Broadgreen Academy Liverpool
• Dixons Croxteth Academy Liverpool
• Dixons Fazakerley Academy Liverpool
• Dixons Allerton Academy Bradford
• Dixons Kings Academy Bradford

What is Dixons Brooklands Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dixons Brooklands Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Dixons Brooklands Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Dixons Brooklands Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Dixons Brooklands Academy have?

Dixons Brooklands Academy has 913 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dixons Brooklands Academy cover?

Dixons Brooklands Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Dixons Brooklands Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.9, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Dixons Brooklands Academy?

Dixons Brooklands Academy is at Moor Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M23 9BP.