Irlam and Cadishead Academy
Station Road, Irlam, Manchester, M44 5ZR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Chris Leader
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Worsley and Eccles
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 844
- URN
- 142073
- Local authority
- Salford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01615370660
About this school
Irlam and Cadishead Academy is a secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 844 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Irlam and Cadishead Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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 | 150 | 106 | 107 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.2 | 40.5 | 43.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.48 -0.72 to -0.25 | -0.07 -0.35 to +0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 32.1% | 46.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 45.3% | 62.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 51.9% | 39.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
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 Irlam and Cadishead 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 | Salford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38.2 | 32.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.5 | 33.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.6 | 33.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 682 |
| 2023/24 | 706 |
| 2024/25 | 775 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Irlam and Cadishead Academy compares
Irlam and Cadishead Academy ranked 10th of 15 secondary schools in Salford 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 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.6 | 8% | 40.1% | 844 | — |
| Broadoak School | 42.4 | 9.9% | 52.4% | 507 | 1.6 miles |
| Wellacre Technology Academy | 46 | 7.5% | 23% | 727 | 1.7 miles |
| Flixton Girls School | 48.3 | 7.3% | 19.7% | 981 | 2.7 miles |
| Urmston Grammar Academy | 71.7 | 4.2% | 8.6% | 1,137 | 3.1 miles |
| Culcheth High School | 51.1 | 9.1% | 18.8% | 1,164 | 3.4 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)
- 40.13%
- English as an additional language
- 11.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.99%
- Persistent absence
- 22.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Broadoak School1.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Wellacre Technology Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Flixton Girls School2.7 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Urmston Grammar Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Culcheth High School3.4 miles
Secondary · Warrington
Other schools in Manchester
Irlam and Cadishead Academy ranks 44th of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Irlam and Cadishead Academy teach?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Irlam and Cadishead Academy?
- The headteacher of Irlam and Cadishead Academy is Mr Chris Leader, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Irlam and Cadishead Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Irlam and Cadishead 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 Irlam and Cadishead Academy?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy has 844 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Irlam and Cadishead Academy full?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 844 on roll (80%), 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 Irlam and Cadishead Academy a faith school?
- No. Irlam and Cadishead Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Irlam and Cadishead Academy part of an academy trust?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Irlam and Cadishead Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.2 in 2022/23 and 43.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Irlam and Cadishead Academy compare with other schools in Salford?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy ranked 10th of 15 secondary schools in Salford 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 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Irlam and Cadishead Academy's absence rate?
- Irlam and Cadishead Academy's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Irlam and Cadishead Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Irlam and Cadishead 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 2 July 2026.