Unsworth Academy
Parr Lane, Bury, BL9 8LP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Stewart
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Shaw Education Trust
- Constituency
- Bury South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 935
- Pupils on roll
- 953
- URN
- 143848
- Local authority
- Bury
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617969820
About this school
Unsworth Academy is a secondary academy in Bury. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 953 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
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 162 | 180 | 189 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.5 | 46.5 | 45.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.03 -0.20 to +0.26 | +0.21 0.00 to +0.42 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 42% | 39.4% | 38.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 66.1% | 63% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 20.6% | 20.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.0 | 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 Unsworth 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 | Bury average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.5 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.5 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.4 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 946 |
| 2023/24 | 963 |
| 2024/25 | 968 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Unsworth Academy compares
Unsworth Academy ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.4 | 7.7% | 31% | 953 | — |
| Parrenthorn High School | — | — | — | 1,025 | 1.2 miles |
| Philips High School | 50.3 | 8.1% | 38.8% | 868 | 1.6 miles |
| The Heys School | 34 | 13.5% | 47.8% | 546 | 1.9 miles |
| Edgar Wood Academy | — | 9.7% | 45.5% | 729 | 2.0 miles |
| The Derby High School | — | — | — | — | 2.0 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
-
Ungraded inspection report24 April 2025
- 12 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.99%
- English as an additional language
- 10.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.68%
- Persistent absence
- 22.55%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Parrenthorn High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Philips High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
The Heys School1.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Edgar Wood Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Heywood
-
The Derby High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Lancs
Other schools in Bury
Unsworth Academy ranks 4th of the 7 ranked secondary schools in Bury.
- Bury Church of England High School Secondary
- Hazel Wood High School Secondary
- St Gabriel's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- The Elton High School Secondary
- Tottington High School Secondary
- Woodhey High School Secondary
- Hoyle Nursery School Nursery
- Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Primary
- Chantlers Primary School Primary
- Chesham Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- East Ward Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Unsworth Academy teach?
- Unsworth Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bury.
- Who is the headteacher of Unsworth Academy?
- The headteacher of Unsworth Academy is Mr Martin Stewart, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Unsworth Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Unsworth 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 Unsworth Academy?
- Unsworth Academy has 953 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Unsworth Academy full?
- Unsworth Academy has capacity for 935 pupils and 953 on roll (102%), 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 Unsworth Academy a faith school?
- No. Unsworth Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Unsworth Academy a selective school?
- No. Unsworth Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Unsworth Academy?
- Unsworth Academy is part of THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Unsworth Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.5 in 2022/23 and 45.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Unsworth Academy rank locally?
- Unsworth Academy ranked 6th of 11 secondary schools in Bury for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 59% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Unsworth Academy's absence rate?
- Unsworth Academy's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Unsworth Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Unsworth 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 10 July 2026.