Ormiston Chadwick Academy
Liverpool Road, Widnes, WA8 7HU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ORMISTON ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Jennifer Lowry-Johnson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Ormiston Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Widnes and Halewood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 976
- Pupils on roll
- 884
- URN
- 140864
- Local authority
- Halton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514245038
About this school
Ormiston Chadwick Academy is a secondary academy in Widnes. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 884 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
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 | 186 | 184 | 179 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.6 | 40.6 | 41.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.12 -0.33 to +0.08 | -0.23 -0.44 to -0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 37.5% | 38.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 62% | 54.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 19% | 20.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Ormiston Chadwick 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 | Halton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.6 | 35.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.6 | 32.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.2 | 34.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 948 |
| 2023/24 | 933 |
| 2024/25 | 921 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ormiston Chadwick Academy compares
Ormiston Chadwick Academy ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in Halton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% 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 | 41.2 | 12.4% | 51.9% | 884 | — |
| Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School | 41.4 | 10.3% | 42.2% | 1,337 | 0.8 miles |
| Wade Deacon High School | 54 | 6.4% | 27% | 1,658 | 1.0 miles |
| Rainhill High School | 45.9 | 6% | 18.4% | 1,535 | 2.7 miles |
| Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy | 30.2 | 16.2% | 50.2% | 730 | 3.2 miles |
| Halewood Academy | 41.6 | 9.3% | 48% | 1,131 | 3.3 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.
Inspection history
- 14 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report20 October 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 51.9%
- English as an additional language
- 3.8%
- Overall absence
- 12.4%
- Persistent absence
- 34.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Wade Deacon High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Rainhill High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Prescot
-
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy3.2 miles
Secondary · Prescot
-
Halewood Academy3.3 miles
Secondary · Knowsley
Other schools in Widnes
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School Secondary
- Wade Deacon High School Secondary
- Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Ditton Nursery School Nursery
- Aspiring Foundations Federated Nursery Schools - Warrington Road Nursery School Nursery
- Birchfield Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints Upton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cronton Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Ditton Primary School Primary
- Fairfield Primary School Primary
- Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Halebank CofE Primary School Primary
- Holy Family Catholic Primary School & Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ormiston Chadwick Academy teach?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Widnes.
- Who is the principal of Ormiston Chadwick Academy?
- The principal of Ormiston Chadwick Academy is Mrs Jennifer Lowry-Johnson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ormiston Chadwick Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ormiston Chadwick 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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy has 884 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Ormiston Chadwick Academy full?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy has capacity for 976 pupils and 884 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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy a faith school?
- No. Ormiston Chadwick Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ormiston Chadwick Academy a selective school?
- No. Ormiston Chadwick Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ormiston Chadwick Academy?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy is part of ORMISTON ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ormiston Chadwick Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.6 in 2022/23 and 41.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ormiston Chadwick Academy rank locally?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy ranked 5th of 8 secondary schools in Halton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% 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 Ormiston Chadwick Academy's absence rate?
- Ormiston Chadwick Academy's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ormiston Chadwick Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ormiston Chadwick 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.