Burscough Priory Academy
Trevor Road, Burscough, Ormskirk, L40 7RZ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ENDEAVOUR LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lucy MacLaren
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Endeavour Learning Trust
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 770
- Pupils on roll
- 729
- URN
- 146282
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01704893259
About this school
Burscough Priory Academy is a secondary academy in Ormskirk. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 729 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Burscough Priory 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
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 | 132 | 134 | 129 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.5 | 47.2 | 48.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.16 -0.08 to +0.40 | +0.23 -0.01 to +0.48 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 50.7% | 51.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 68.7% | 72.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 16.4% | 27.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
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 Burscough Priory 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.5 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.2 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.8 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 679 |
| 2023/24 | 693 |
| 2024/25 | 707 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Burscough Priory Academy compares
Burscough Priory Academy ranked 24th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.8 | 7.9% | 16.1% | 729 | — |
| Ormskirk School | 42.4 | 11.8% | 21.2% | 1,169 | 2.5 miles |
| St Bede's Catholic High School | 55 | 6.7% | 6.2% | 709 | 3.3 miles |
| Lathom High School : A Technology College | 41.5 | 10.5% | 46.9% | 806 | 3.5 miles |
| Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy | 59.3 | 4.9% | 8.6% | 958 | 5.3 miles |
| Tarleton Academy | 46.3 | 9.5% | 18.2% | 674 | 5.9 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)
- 16.12%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 7.85%
- Persistent absence
- 20.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ormskirk School2.5 miles
Secondary · Ormskirk
-
St Bede's Catholic High School3.3 miles
Secondary · Ormskirk
-
Lathom High School : A Technology College3.5 miles
Secondary · Skelmersdale
-
Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy5.3 miles
Secondary · Leyland
-
Tarleton Academy5.9 miles
Secondary · Preston
Other schools in Ormskirk
- Ormskirk School Secondary
- St Bede's Catholic High School Secondary
- Moorgate Nursery School Nursery
- Aughton Christ Church Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Aughton St Michael's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aughton Town Green Primary School Primary
- Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Burscough Bridge Methodist School Primary
- Burscough Bridge St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burscough Lordsgate Township Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burscough Village Primary School Primary
- Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Burscough Priory Academy teach?
- Burscough Priory Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Ormskirk.
- Who is the headteacher of Burscough Priory Academy?
- The headteacher of Burscough Priory Academy is Mrs Lucy MacLaren, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Burscough Priory Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Burscough Priory 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 Burscough Priory Academy?
- Burscough Priory Academy has 729 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Burscough Priory Academy full?
- Burscough Priory Academy has capacity for 770 pupils and 729 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Burscough Priory Academy a faith school?
- No. Burscough Priory Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Burscough Priory Academy a selective school?
- No. Burscough Priory Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Burscough Priory Academy part of an academy trust?
- Burscough Priory Academy is part of ENDEAVOUR LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Burscough Priory Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.5 in 2022/23 and 48.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Burscough Priory Academy compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Burscough Priory Academy ranked 24th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 72% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Burscough Priory Academy's absence rate?
- Burscough Priory Academy's overall absence rate is 7.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Burscough Priory Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Burscough Priory 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.