Unity Academy Blackpool
Warbreck Hill Road, Blackpool, FY2 0TS
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- FYLDE COAST ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr John Connolly
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Fylde Coast Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Blackpool North and Fleetwood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,020
- Pupils on roll
- 877
- URN
- 139675
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253478129
About this school
Unity Academy Blackpool is an all-through academy in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 877 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Unity Academy Blackpool, 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 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
- Inadequate
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Inadequate
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 56 | 57 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 42% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 72% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 56% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 56% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 100.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 114 | 111 | 108 |
| Attainment 8 score | 27.4 | 26.5 | 29.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.27 -1.54 to -1.01 | -1.94 -2.21 to -1.67 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 11% | 11.7% | 17.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 25% | 24.3% | 32.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 5% | 5.4% | 11.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
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 Unity Academy Blackpool has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 51.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 42% | 50.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 52.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 27.4 | 29.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 26.5 | 27.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 29.3 | 25.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 994 |
| 2023/24 | 974 |
| 2024/25 | 946 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Unity Academy Blackpool compares
Unity Academy Blackpool ranked 7th of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29.3 | 11.5% | 61.5% | 877 | — |
| Armfield Academy | 35.6 | 8.8% | 39.8% | 1,221 | 3.2 miles |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | — | 4.6% | 19% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Westminster Primary Academy | — | 6.2% | 71.4% | 397 | 0.6 miles |
| Lancashire Alternative Provision | — | — | 0% | 38 | 0.6 miles |
| Layton Primary School | — | 5.5% | 41.5% | 622 | 0.6 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)
- 61.51%
- English as an additional language
- 11.9%
- Overall absence
- 11.46%
- Persistent absence
- 36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Armfield Academy3.2 miles
All-through · Blackpool
-
Holy Family Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Westminster Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Blackpool
-
Lancashire Alternative Provision0.6 miles
Independent schools · Blackpool
-
Layton Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Blackpool
Other schools in Blackpool
Unity Academy Blackpool ranks 6th of the 29 ranked primary schools in Blackpool, and Unity Academy Blackpool ranks 7th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Blackpool.
- Armfield Academy All-through
- Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Gateway Academy Primary
- Blackpool St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School Primary
- Boundary Primary School Primary
- Christ The King Catholic Academy Primary
- Devonshire Primary Academy Primary
- Hawes Side Academy Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School Primary
- Kincraig Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Unity Academy Blackpool teach?
- Unity Academy Blackpool teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is an all-through school in Blackpool.
- Who is the principal of Unity Academy Blackpool?
- The principal of Unity Academy Blackpool is Mr John Connolly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Unity Academy Blackpool been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Unity Academy Blackpool, 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 Unity Academy Blackpool?
- Unity Academy Blackpool has 877 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is Unity Academy Blackpool full?
- Unity Academy Blackpool has capacity for 1,020 pupils and 877 on roll (86%), 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 Unity Academy Blackpool a faith school?
- No. Unity Academy Blackpool has no designated religious character.
- Is Unity Academy Blackpool a selective school?
- No. Unity Academy Blackpool is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Unity Academy Blackpool have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Unity Academy Blackpool as having nursery classes.
- Is Unity Academy Blackpool part of an academy trust?
- Unity Academy Blackpool is part of FYLDE COAST ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Unity Academy Blackpool's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Unity Academy Blackpool compare with other schools in Blackpool?
- Unity Academy Blackpool ranked 7th of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Unity Academy Blackpool's absence rate?
- Unity Academy Blackpool's overall absence rate is 11.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Unity Academy Blackpool's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Unity Academy Blackpool'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.