Albany Academy

About Albany Academy

If you are a parent in Chorley considering Albany Academy, the first thing you will notice is just how sought after it is. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 610 applications for just 127 places, giving it an oversubscription ratio of 4.8. Of those applications, 135 were first preferences, and 102 families received their top choice offer. That level of demand suggests a strong local reputation, though it is worth noting that the school does not have a sixth form, so pupils will need to move on after Year 11. The school is a mixed, non-religious state secondary for ages 11 to 16, with a current roll of 722 pupils against a capacity of 756, so it is running close to full. Around 28.5 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average and gives some indication of the community it serves.

Academically, Albany Academy was rated Good by Ofsted in its most recent inspection in March 2024, with Good marks across all four graded areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is consistent with its previous inspection in 2014, which also rated overall effectiveness as Good. On the key Progress 8 measure, the school scored -0.1, which is bang in line with the Lancashire local authority average of -0.11. That places it 35th out of 90 secondary schools in the county, and 5th out of 6 schools in Chorley specifically. The Attainment 8 score sits at 44.5, and 60 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths. However, only 36.9 per cent hit the stronger grade 5 threshold, and just 11.5 per cent entered the EBacc. Progress in English was notably weaker than in maths, with a Progress 8 English score of -0.52 compared to -0.07 for maths.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a sports hall, gymnasium, library, music rooms, and an ICT suite, plus a chapel on site. Sports provision is broad, with options like rowing, martial arts, and dance alongside the usual netball, hockey, and cricket. There is also a good selection of clubs, from science club and gardening to debate and Young Enterprise. For families with children who have additional needs, Albany Academy lists a wide range of SEND provisions, covering dyslexia, autism, speech and language needs, physical disabilities, and social, emotional and mental health support. Given the high oversubscription, it is a school you would need to prioritise on your application, and it will particularly suit families who value a well-resourced, inclusive mainstream setting and are comfortable planning for a post-16 transition elsewhere.

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