Dixons Ashton Academy
Broadoak Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 8RF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- DIXONS ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Matthew Little
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Dixons Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Ashton-under-Lyne
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,326
- URN
- 135508
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01612419555
About this school
Dixons Ashton Academy is a secondary academy in Ashton-Under-Lyne. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,326 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dixons Ashton Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 264 | 254 | 230 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.3 | 36.0 | 38.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.66 -0.84 to -0.49 | -0.56 -0.74 to -0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 28% | 29.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 49.2% | 50% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 16% | 25.6% | 33% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dixons Ashton Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36.3 | 42.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 36 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.1 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,292 |
| 2023/24 | 1,291 |
| 2024/25 | 1,299 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dixons Ashton Academy compares
Dixons Ashton Academy ranked 10th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.1 | 10.9% | 50.1% | 1,326 | — |
| St Damian's RC Science College | 55.1 | 5.2% | 25% | 829 | 0.4 miles |
| West Hill School | 43.5 | 6.5% | 29.5% | 852 | 1.5 miles |
| The Hathershaw College | 39.3 | 7.6% | 48.9% | 1,034 | 1.7 miles |
| Oasis Academy Leesbrook | 41.5 | 8.1% | 48.8% | 1,349 | 2.1 miles |
| Dixons Pennine Academy | 35.8 | 10.4% | 45% | 592 | 2.2 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50.12%
- English as an additional language
- 25.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.87%
- Persistent absence
- 26.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Damian's RC Science College0.4 miles
Secondary · Ashton-under-Lyne
-
West Hill School1.5 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
-
The Hathershaw College1.7 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Oasis Academy Leesbrook2.1 miles
Secondary · Oldham
-
Dixons Pennine Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Stalybridge
Other schools in Ashton-Under-Lyne
- Mossley Hollins High School Secondary
- St Damian's RC Science College Secondary
- Ashton West End Primary Academy Primary
- Canon Burrows CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Johnson CofE Primary School Primary
- Holden Clough Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Primary
- Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School Primary
- Livingstone Primary School Primary
- Micklehurst All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Milton St John's CofE Primary School Primary
- Oasis Academy Broadoak Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dixons Ashton Academy teach?
- Dixons Ashton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
- Who is the principal of Dixons Ashton Academy?
- The principal of Dixons Ashton Academy is Mr Matthew Little, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dixons Ashton Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dixons Ashton Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Dixons Ashton Academy?
- Dixons Ashton Academy has 1,326 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Dixons Ashton Academy full?
- Dixons Ashton Academy has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,326 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Dixons Ashton Academy a faith school?
- No. Dixons Ashton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Dixons Ashton Academy a selective school?
- No. Dixons Ashton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Dixons Ashton Academy part of an academy trust?
- Dixons Ashton Academy is part of DIXONS ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dixons Ashton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 36.3 in 2022/23 and 38.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dixons Ashton Academy compare with other schools in Tameside?
- Dixons Ashton Academy ranked 10th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 33% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dixons Ashton Academy's absence rate?
- Dixons Ashton Academy's overall absence rate is 10.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dixons Ashton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dixons Ashton Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.