Albany Academy
Bolton Road, Chorley, PR7 3AY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ALBANY LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Mayland
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Albany Academy
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 756
- Pupils on roll
- 725
- URN
- 138544
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01257244020
About this school
Albany Academy is a secondary academy in Chorley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 725 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Albany 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
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 | 137 | 130 | 143 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.0 | 44.5 | 43.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.04 -0.28 to +0.20 | -0.10 -0.35 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 36.9% | 33.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 60% | 55.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 15.4% | 14% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.9 | 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 Albany 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.7 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 723 |
| 2023/24 | 719 |
| 2024/25 | 722 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Albany Academy compares
Albany Academy ranked 43rd of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.7 | 8.9% | 29.5% | 725 | — |
| Holy Cross Catholic High School | 55 | 7% | 13% | 976 | 0.6 miles |
| Southlands High School | 42.1 | 9.9% | 28.6% | 821 | 1.2 miles |
| Parklands High School | 44.4 | 6.7% | 28.5% | 1,102 | 1.4 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England High School | 58.9 | 4.1% | 3.4% | 1,134 | 1.4 miles |
| Rivington and Blackrod High School | 49.2 | 7.5% | 26.7% | 1,626 | 3.7 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
- 5 March 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report16 November 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 29.5%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 8.94%
- Persistent absence
- 25.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Cross Catholic High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Southlands High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Parklands High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
St Michael's Church of England High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Chorley
-
Rivington and Blackrod High School3.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Chorley
Albany Academy ranks 4th of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Chorley.
- Holy Cross Catholic High School Secondary
- Parklands High School Secondary
- Southlands High School Secondary
- St Michael's Church of England High School Secondary
- Duke Street Nursery School Nursery
- Highfield Nursery School Nursery
- Abbey Village Primary School Primary
- Adlington Primary School Primary
- Adlington St Paul's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Brindle St James' Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Brinscall St John's CofE and Methodist Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Albany Academy teach?
- Albany Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Chorley.
- Who is the headteacher of Albany Academy?
- The headteacher of Albany Academy is Mr Peter Mayland, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Albany Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Albany 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 Albany Academy?
- Albany Academy has 725 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Albany Academy full?
- Albany Academy has capacity for 756 pupils and 725 on roll (96%), 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 Albany Academy a faith school?
- No. Albany Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Albany Academy a selective school?
- No. Albany Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Albany Academy part of an academy trust?
- Albany Academy is part of ALBANY LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Albany Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45 in 2022/23 and 43.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Albany Academy compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Albany Academy ranked 43rd of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Albany Academy's absence rate?
- Albany Academy's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Albany Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Albany 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.