Hope Academy
Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 0AQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England/Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Marie Adams
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Liverpool
- Sponsor
- The Dioceses of Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academy Trust
- Constituency
- St Helens North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,235
- URN
- 136421
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01744671930
About this school
Hope Academy is a secondary academy in Newton-le-Willows. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,235 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. 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 | 239 | 284 | 274 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.0 | 42.7 | 43.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.28 -0.46 to -0.10 | -0.23 -0.40 to -0.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 35.9% | 32.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 48% | 57% | 56.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 56% | 59.5% | 32.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
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 Hope 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 | St. Helens average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.7 | 38.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.8 | 30.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,351 |
| 2023/24 | 1,349 |
| 2024/25 | 1,288 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hope Academy compares
Hope Academy ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% 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 | 43.8 | 9.2% | 28.8% | 1,235 | — |
| The Byrchall High School | 41.3 | 9.4% | 36.8% | 1,138 | 1.5 miles |
| St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield | 49.1 | 7% | 13.7% | 1,204 | 1.6 miles |
| Golborne High School | 50.1 | 7.9% | 23.8% | 1,144 | 2.0 miles |
| Outwood Academy Haydock | 41.2 | 8.9% | 39.4% | 791 | 2.2 miles |
| Cansfield High School | 44.4 | 7% | 27.1% | 974 | 2.3 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)
- 28.8%
- English as an additional language
- 5%
- Overall absence
- 9.24%
- Persistent absence
- 23.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Byrchall High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield1.6 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Golborne High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Warrington
-
Outwood Academy Haydock2.2 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
-
Cansfield High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Wigan
Other schools in Newton-le-Willows
- Lyme Community Primary School Primary
- Newton-le-Willows Primary School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Junior Academy Primary
- St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- The District CofE Primary School Primary
- Wargrave CofE Primary School Primary
- Wargrave House School Special schools
- Willow Bank School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Hope Academy teach?
- Hope Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Newton-le-Willows.
- Who is the principal of Hope Academy?
- The principal of Hope Academy is Mrs Marie Adams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hope Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hope 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 Hope Academy?
- Hope Academy has 1,235 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Hope Academy full?
- Hope Academy has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,235 on roll (91%), 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 Hope Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Hope Academy is designated Church of England/Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Liverpool.
- Is Hope Academy a selective school?
- No. Hope Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Hope Academy?
- Hope Academy is part of THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Hope Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41 in 2022/23 and 43.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Hope Academy rank locally?
- Hope Academy ranked 3rd of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 52% 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 Hope Academy's absence rate?
- Hope Academy's overall absence rate is 9.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hope Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hope 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.