Co-op Academy Manchester
Plant Hill Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester, M9 0WQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE CO-OPERATIVE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Phillip Quirk
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Co-operative Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Blackley and Middleton South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,554
- URN
- 136174
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617953005
About this school
Co-op Academy Manchester is a secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,554 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Co-op Academy Manchester, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 14 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 322 | 316 | 324 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.1 | 43.0 | 44.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.22 -0.39 to -0.06 | -0.02 -0.18 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 39.6% | 37% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 56.3% | 57.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22% | 34.2% | 21% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
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 Co-op Academy Manchester has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.1 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.9 | 43.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,620 |
| 2023/24 | 1,608 |
| 2024/25 | 1,610 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Co-op Academy Manchester compares
Co-op Academy Manchester ranked 21st of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.9 | 13.2% | 52.9% | 1,554 | — |
| Our Lady's RC High School | 49.1 | 4.4% | 44.6% | 1,046 | 0.5 miles |
| The King David High School | 55.4 | 8% | 19% | 708 | 1.3 miles |
| Co-op Academy North Manchester | 42.4 | 11.4% | 55.9% | 1,259 | 1.4 miles |
| St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy | 50.4 | 7.9% | 23.9% | 1,032 | 1.9 miles |
| Manchester Communication Academy | 44.5 | 8% | 64.1% | 1,240 | 1.9 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)
- 52.92%
- English as an additional language
- 36.9%
- Overall absence
- 13.15%
- Persistent absence
- 35.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady's RC High School0.5 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
The King David High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Co-op Academy North Manchester1.4 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Manchester Communication Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
Co-op Academy Manchester ranks 34th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
- Dean Trust Ardwick Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Co-op Academy Manchester teach?
- Co-op Academy Manchester teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the principal of Co-op Academy Manchester?
- The principal of Co-op Academy Manchester is Mr Phillip Quirk, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Co-op Academy Manchester been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Co-op Academy Manchester, 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 Co-op Academy Manchester?
- Co-op Academy Manchester has 1,554 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Co-op Academy Manchester full?
- Co-op Academy Manchester has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,554 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Co-op Academy Manchester a faith school?
- No. Co-op Academy Manchester has no designated religious character.
- Is Co-op Academy Manchester a selective school?
- No. Co-op Academy Manchester is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Co-op Academy Manchester part of an academy trust?
- Co-op Academy Manchester is part of THE CO-OPERATIVE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Co-op Academy Manchester's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.1 in 2022/23 and 44.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Co-op Academy Manchester compare with other schools in Manchester?
- Co-op Academy Manchester ranked 21st of 30 secondary schools in Manchester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 57% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Co-op Academy Manchester's absence rate?
- Co-op Academy Manchester's overall absence rate is 13.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Co-op Academy Manchester's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Co-op Academy Manchester'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.