Freehold Community Academy
Sidmouth Street, Oldham, OL9 7RG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- FOCUS ACADEMY TRUST (UK) LTD
- Principal
- Mrs Nicola Maher
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Focus Academy Trust (UK) Ltd
- Constituency
- Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 447
- URN
- 142425
- Local authority
- Oldham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617706450
About this school
Freehold Community Academy is a primary academy in Oldham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 447 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Freehold Community 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 1 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 64 | 61 | 64 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 66% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 72% | 61% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 77% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Freehold Community 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 | Oldham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 54.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 55.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 55% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 475 |
| 2023/24 | 453 |
| 2024/25 | 459 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Freehold Community Academy compares
Freehold Community Academy ranked 43rd of 71 primary schools in Oldham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 55% | 5.7% | 36% | 447 | — |
| Christ Church CofE Primary School | 90% | 4.1% | 25.9% | 273 | 0.4 miles |
| Stanley Road Primary School | 53% | 5% | 40.2% | 443 | 0.5 miles |
| Corpus Christi RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | — | 0.5 miles |
| St Luke's CofE Primary School | 41% | 6.7% | 42.7% | 191 | 0.5 miles |
| Westwood Academy | 73% | 6% | 48.3% | 242 | 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)
- 35.99%
- English as an additional language
- 78.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 17.37%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Christ Church CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Stanley Road Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Corpus Christi RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
St Luke's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Westwood Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Oldham
Other schools in Oldham
Freehold Community Academy ranks 41st of the 66 ranked primary schools in Oldham.
- Alexandra Park Junior School Primary
- Alt Academy Primary
- Bare Trees Primary School Primary
- Beal Vale Primary School Primary
- Beever Primary School Primary
- Blackshaw Lane Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Broadfield Primary School Primary
- Buckstones Primary School Primary
- Burnley Brow Community School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Coppice Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Freehold Community Academy teach?
- Freehold Community Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Oldham.
- Who is the principal of Freehold Community Academy?
- The principal of Freehold Community Academy is Mrs Nicola Maher, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Freehold Community Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Freehold Community 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 Freehold Community Academy?
- Freehold Community Academy has 447 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Freehold Community Academy full?
- Freehold Community Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 447 on roll (106%), so it is at or above 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 Freehold Community Academy a faith school?
- No. Freehold Community Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Freehold Community Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Freehold Community Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Freehold Community Academy part of an academy trust?
- Freehold Community Academy is part of FOCUS ACADEMY TRUST (UK) LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Freehold Community Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 55% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Freehold Community Academy compare with other schools in Oldham?
- Freehold Community Academy ranked 43rd of 71 primary schools in Oldham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 30% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Freehold Community Academy's absence rate?
- Freehold Community Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Freehold Community Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Freehold Community 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.