Knutsford Academy
Bexton Road, Knutsford, WA16 0EA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP ACADEMIES TRUST
- Executive Principal
- Mrs Karen Key
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Tatton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,606
- Pupils on roll
- 1,429
- URN
- 138002
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01565633294
About this school
Knutsford Academy is a secondary academy in Knutsford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,429 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Knutsford 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 187 | 187 | 212 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.7 | 54.2 | 54.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.05 -0.16 to +0.26 | -0.03 -0.24 to +0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 58% | 67.4% | 67.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 86.1% | 85.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 58% | 47.1% | 51.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
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 Knutsford 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 | Cheshire East average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.7 | 37.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.2 | 39.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.9 | 37.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,267 |
| 2023/24 | 1,235 |
| 2024/25 | 1,325 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Knutsford Academy compares
Knutsford Academy ranked 2nd of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.9 | 6.5% | 14.9% | 1,429 | — |
| The Rudheath Senior Academy | 35.7 | 12.4% | 34.6% | 576 | 5.2 miles |
| Altrincham Grammar School for Boys | 78.5 | 4.5% | 5.7% | 1,432 | 5.4 miles |
| Saint Ambrose College | 76.2 | 4.1% | 8% | 1,096 | 5.4 miles |
| Altrincham Grammar School for Girls | 80.6 | 4.9% | 6.3% | 1,381 | 5.6 miles |
| Loreto Grammar School | 73.7 | 3.9% | 5.5% | 1,075 | 6.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 14.91%
- English as an additional language
- 3%
- Overall absence
- 6.49%
- Persistent absence
- 15.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Rudheath Senior Academy5.2 miles
Secondary · Northwich
-
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys5.4 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
-
Saint Ambrose College5.4 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
-
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls5.6 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
-
Loreto Grammar School6.1 miles
Secondary · Altrincham
Other schools in Knutsford
- Bexton Primary School Primary
- Egerton Primary School Primary
- High Legh Primary School Primary
- Lower Peover CofE Primary School Primary
- Manor Park Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Mobberley CofE Primary School Primary
- Peover Superior Endowed Primary School Primary
- St Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School Primary
- Adelaide Heath Academy Academies
- Oak Cottage Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Knutsford Academy teach?
- Knutsford Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Knutsford.
- Who is the executive principal of Knutsford Academy?
- The executive principal of Knutsford Academy is Mrs Karen Key, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Knutsford Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Knutsford 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 Knutsford Academy?
- Knutsford Academy has 1,429 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Knutsford Academy full?
- Knutsford Academy has capacity for 1,606 pupils and 1,429 on roll (89%), 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 Knutsford Academy a faith school?
- No. Knutsford Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Knutsford Academy a selective school?
- No. Knutsford Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Knutsford Academy part of an academy trust?
- Knutsford Academy is part of THE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Knutsford Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.7 in 2022/23 and 54.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Knutsford Academy compare with other schools in Cheshire East?
- Knutsford Academy ranked 2nd of 22 secondary schools in Cheshire East for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 87% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Knutsford Academy's absence rate?
- Knutsford Academy's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Knutsford Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Knutsford 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.