Darwen Aldridge Community Academy

URN 135580·Secondary·Academy sponsor led·Aldridge Education·Compare

Flags

4

2 high

Overall absence at 11.3%Overall absence at 11.1%In-year deficit of 3.8%Requires improvement — Quality of education
Finance: 2024/25Ofsted: May 2025Performance: 2025/26Workforce: 2025/26Attendance: 2025/26

Per-pupil income

£8,178.84

2023/24

Staff costs % of income

73.5%

DfE considers above 78% a concern

Reserves

4.2%

of income

In-year balance

-3.8%

of income

Key indicators

Overall absence at 11.3%

National average is approximately 6.2%. Current level: 11.3%.

Overall absence at 11.1%

National average is approximately 6.2%. Current level: 11.1%.

In-year deficit of 3.8%

School spent more than it earned this year. Deficit is 3.8% of income.

Requires improvement — Quality of education

Most recent Ofsted rated Requires Improvement in: Quality of education.

Latest Ofsted inspection

20 May 2025 · Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1

Quality of education

Requires improvement

Behaviour & attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership & management

Good
SafeguardingEffective

Overall grade no longer given from Sep 2024

Performance snapshot

Progress 8Measures how much progress pupils make between KS2 and KS4, compared to pupils with similar starting points. 0 is average; positive means above average.
Attainment 8Average score across 8 GCSE-equivalent subjects. Higher is better. National average is around 46.36.5
Basics 9–4 (Eng & Maths)Percentage of pupils achieving grade 4 or above in both English and maths GCSEs.49.7%
Basics 9–5 (Eng & Maths)23.6%
EBacc entryPercentage of pupils entered for the English Baccalaureate: English, maths, sciences, a language, and history or geography.17.3%

2024/25 · KS4

School demographics

Pupils on roll

1,065

Capacity

1,600 (67%)

Free school meals

32.8%

English additional lang.

16.7%

Ethnicity

White British 71.7%Asian 10.5%Black 4.6%Mixed 2.0%Chinese 0.9%Other 2.4%

Age range: 1119

Workforce

FTE teachersFull-time equivalent: a measure of workforce size where part-time staff are counted proportionally.

61.4

Pupil:teacher ratioNumber of pupils per full-time equivalent teacher. Lower generally indicates smaller class sizes.

17.3

Mean salary

£46,647

Turnover

Vacancy rate

0.0%

Sickness (days)

Attendance

Overall absence

11.1%

National avg: 6.2%

Persistent absencePupils missing 10% or more of school sessions. A key DfE attendance measure.

35.7%

10%+ sessions missed

Authorised absence

5.9%

Unauthorised absence

5.3%

2024/25 · 1,008 pupils