Furness Academy
Park Drive, Barrow-in-Furness, LA13 9BB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- FURNESS EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Robinson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Furness Education Trust
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,187
- URN
- 135940
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229484270
About this school
Furness Academy is a secondary academy in Barrow-in-Furness. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,187 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- 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 | 196 | 209 | 225 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.2 | 40.9 | 42.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.26 -0.46 to -0.07 | -0.36 -0.55 to -0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 32.5% | 35.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 54.5% | 57.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 5.7% | 28.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
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 Furness 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 | Westmorland and Furness average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.2 | 37.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.9 | 40 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.4 | 41.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,159 |
| 2023/24 | 1,209 |
| 2024/25 | 1,188 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Furness Academy compares
Furness Academy ranked 13th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.4 | 9.3% | 29.9% | 1,187 | — |
| St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow | 34.6 | 9.8% | 29.1% | 624 | 1.0 miles |
| Walney School | 38.7 | 9.3% | 25.9% | 468 | 2.1 miles |
| Dowdales School | 41.8 | 9.5% | 21.2% | 877 | 3.1 miles |
| Ulverston Victoria High School | 46.8 | 9.4% | 14.3% | 1,319 | 6.8 miles |
| Millom School | 44.9 | 8.2% | 22.7% | 476 | 7.1 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)
- 29.88%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.27%
- Persistent absence
- 25.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow1.0 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Walney School2.1 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Dowdales School3.1 miles
Secondary · Dalton-in-Furness
-
Ulverston Victoria High School6.8 miles
Secondary · Ulverston
-
Millom School7.1 miles
Secondary · Millom
Other schools in Barrow-in-Furness
- St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow Secondary
- Walney School Secondary
- Hindpool Nursery School Nursery
- Barrow Island Community Primary School Primary
- Brisbane Park Infant School Primary
- Cambridge Primary School Primary
- Greengate Junior School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Newbarns Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Newton Village Academy Primary
- Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Parkside Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Furness Academy teach?
- Furness Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Barrow-in-Furness.
- Who is the headteacher of Furness Academy?
- The headteacher of Furness Academy is Mrs Helen Robinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Furness Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Furness 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 big is Furness Academy?
- Furness Academy has 1,187 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Furness Academy full?
- Furness Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,187 on roll (99%), 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 Furness Academy a faith school?
- No. Furness Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Furness Academy a selective school?
- No. Furness Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Furness Academy?
- Furness Academy is part of FURNESS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Furness Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.2 in 2022/23 and 42.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Furness Academy rank locally?
- Furness Academy ranked 13th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 47% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Furness Academy's absence rate?
- Furness Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Furness Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Furness 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.