Blackpool Aspire Academy
Blackpool Old Road, Blackpool, FY3 7LS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- FYLDE COAST ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mr John Woods
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Fylde Coast Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Blackpool South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 799
- URN
- 141132
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253353155
About this school
Blackpool Aspire Academy is a secondary academy in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 799 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
- 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 | 165 | 163 | 158 |
| Attainment 8 score | 32.7 | 32.1 | 36.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.16 -1.38 to -0.94 | -1.31 -1.54 to -1.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 18% | 23.9% | 28.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 41% | 38% | 53.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 2% | 2.5% | 3.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
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 Blackpool Aspire 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 | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 32.7 | 29.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 32.1 | 27.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.7 | 25.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 838 |
| 2023/24 | 845 |
| 2024/25 | 835 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Blackpool Aspire Academy compares
Blackpool Aspire Academy ranked 4th of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.7 | 9.6% | 66.5% | 799 | — |
| St Mary's Catholic Academy | 41.5 | 7.9% | 37.1% | 1,188 | 0.7 miles |
| Baines School | 45.8 | 8.5% | 31.6% | 726 | 0.9 miles |
| Hodgson Academy | 49.5 | 6.3% | 18.3% | 1,121 | 1.6 miles |
| Montgomery Academy | 40 | 9% | 37.3% | 1,192 | 1.6 miles |
| Millfield Science & Performing Arts College | 48.5 | 7.1% | 22.1% | 877 | 2.1 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 66.47%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.58%
- Persistent absence
- 32.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mary's Catholic Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Blackpool
-
Baines School0.9 miles
Secondary · Poulton-le-Fylde
-
Hodgson Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Poulton-Le-Fylde
-
Montgomery Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Blackpool
-
Millfield Science & Performing Arts College2.1 miles
Secondary · Thornton-Cleveleys
Other schools in Blackpool
Blackpool Aspire Academy ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Blackpool.
- Highfield Leadership Academy Secondary
- Montgomery Academy Secondary
- South Shore Academy Secondary
- St George's School A Church of England Academy Secondary
- St Mary's Catholic Academy Secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Blackpool Aspire Academy teach?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Blackpool.
- Who is the principal of Blackpool Aspire Academy?
- The principal of Blackpool Aspire Academy is Mr John Woods, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Blackpool Aspire Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Blackpool Aspire 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 Blackpool Aspire Academy?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy has 799 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Blackpool Aspire Academy full?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 799 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 Blackpool Aspire Academy a faith school?
- No. Blackpool Aspire Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Blackpool Aspire Academy a selective school?
- No. Blackpool Aspire Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Blackpool Aspire Academy?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy 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 Blackpool Aspire Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 32.7 in 2022/23 and 36.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Blackpool Aspire Academy rank locally?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy ranked 4th of 7 secondary schools in Blackpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Blackpool Aspire Academy's absence rate?
- Blackpool Aspire Academy's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Blackpool Aspire Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Blackpool Aspire 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.