Blackpool Gateway Academy

About Blackpool Gateway Academy

Blackpool Gateway Academy is a state primary school in the Blackpool local authority, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good across all five categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership. This marks a clear improvement from its previous inspection in 2018, when it was judged Requires Improvement overall. Among the 30 primary schools in Blackpool, the academy ranks 22nd on its KS2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard, placing it in the bottom half of the local authority. The top-performing peers in the area are Kincraig Primary School, Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School, and Westcliff Primary Academy. The nearest school rated Outstanding is Layton Primary School, 3.3 kilometres away. Blackpool Gateway Academy is a mixed, non-religious school for children aged 3 to 11, with a nursery on site, and is led by headteacher Miss Makinson.

Academically, the school's 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results show that 29% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well below the Blackpool local authority average of 58%. In individual subjects, 44% reached the expected standard in reading, 45% in writing, and 38% in maths. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard was very low: 2% in reading, 2% in writing, and 4% in maths. Average scaled scores were 97 in reading and 96 in maths. Nationally, the school ranks in the bottom 3% of all primaries on the combined measure, and in the bottom 5% within the North West region. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much pupils improve relative to their starting points. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 68.4%, which is significantly above the national average.

The school has capacity for 420 pupils but currently has 322 on roll, and for the 2025/26 intake it was oversubscribed, with 42 applications for 27 places and 26 first-preference offers made. Facilities include a dining hall, playing fields, an outdoor playground, and a library. Sports offered are dance, football, cricket, swimming, and athletics, and there is a range of clubs including gardening, art, coding, film, and chess. The school provides for a wide range of special educational needs and disabilities, including specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and physical disability. This combination of strong SEND support and a nursery provision makes it a practical choice for families in Blackpool who need early years care and a school experienced in supporting children with additional needs, particularly given the high level of deprivation in the area.

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