Co-op Academy Walkden
Old Clough Lane, Walkden, Manchester, M28 7JB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE CO-OPERATIVE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Matt Hacker
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Co-operative Academies Trust
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,414
- URN
- 146404
- Local authority
- Salford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01618501625
About this school
Co-op Academy Walkden is a secondary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,414 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Co-op Academy Walkden, 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 | 296 | 295 | 297 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.9 | 44.4 | 43.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.57 -0.74 to -0.41 | -0.47 -0.63 to -0.30 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 43.4% | 40.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 63.1% | 60.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 27.5% | 40.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
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 Co-op Academy Walkden 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 | 42.9 | 32.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 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 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,503 |
| 2023/24 | 1,491 |
| 2024/25 | 1,478 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Co-op Academy Walkden compares
Co-op Academy Walkden ranked 11th 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 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.6 | 9.4% | 29.8% | 1,414 | — |
| The Lowry Academy | 44.7 | 10% | 57.7% | 884 | 1.2 miles |
| St Ambrose Barlow RC High School | 44.2 | 7.7% | 28.7% | 1,078 | 1.2 miles |
| Moorside High School | 41.8 | 9.2% | 29.9% | 1,129 | 1.6 miles |
| Star Salford Academy | — | 10.4% | 61.2% | 389 | 1.6 miles |
| Kearsley Academy | 51.8 | 9.6% | 42.7% | 768 | 1.7 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)
- 29.84%
- English as an additional language
- 8.4%
- Overall absence
- 9.43%
- Persistent absence
- 28.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Lowry Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Moorside High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Star Salford Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Worsley
-
Kearsley Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Manchester
Co-op Academy Walkden ranks 45th 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
- Dean Trust Ardwick Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Co-op Academy Walkden teach?
- Co-op Academy Walkden teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Co-op Academy Walkden?
- The headteacher of Co-op Academy Walkden is Mr Matt Hacker, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Co-op Academy Walkden been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Co-op Academy Walkden, 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 Co-op Academy Walkden?
- Co-op Academy Walkden has 1,414 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Co-op Academy Walkden full?
- Co-op Academy Walkden has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,414 on roll (94%), 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 Co-op Academy Walkden a faith school?
- No. Co-op Academy Walkden has no designated religious character.
- Is Co-op Academy Walkden a selective school?
- No. Co-op Academy Walkden is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Co-op Academy Walkden part of an academy trust?
- Co-op Academy Walkden is part of THE CO-OPERATIVE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Co-op Academy Walkden have?
- The schools register lists Co-op Academy Walkden's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Co-op Academy Walkden's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.9 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 Co-op Academy Walkden compare with other schools in Salford?
- Co-op Academy Walkden ranked 11th 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 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Co-op Academy Walkden's absence rate?
- Co-op Academy Walkden's overall absence rate is 9.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Co-op Academy Walkden's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Co-op Academy Walkden'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.