Dixons Brooklands Academy

About Dixons Brooklands Academy

Dixons Brooklands Academy is a mixed state secondary in Manchester, serving 999 pupils aged 11 to 19. In the local authority's rankings for Progress 8, it sits 28th out of 31 schools, placing it in the bottom half of Manchester's secondaries. The three highest-performing schools in the area are Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Manchester, Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester, and Levenshulme High School, all of which achieved significantly stronger Progress 8 scores. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is Didsbury High School, about 4.3 kilometres away. Dixons Brooklands Academy itself was judged as Requires Improvement in its most recent graded inspection in November 2024, a step up from its previous Inadequate rating in March 2020. The inspection report noted that personal development is now Good, while behaviour and attitudes, quality of education, and leadership and management all require improvement. The sixth form was not judged in this inspection.

Academically, the school's Progress 8 score of -0.64 is well below average nationally and considerably lower than the Manchester local authority average of 0.18. Attainment 8 sits at 35.7, and 38% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, dropping to 25% at grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.15, with 52.6% of pupils entering the EBacc combination of subjects. In the 2023/24 results, the school ranked 2781st out of 3141 schools nationally for Progress 8, placing it in the bottom 50% of schools across the country. Within the North West region, it ranks 370th out of 445 schools. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 53.2%, well above the national average, and its capacity is 1050, with 999 pupils currently on roll.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26, with 266 applications for 169 places and 80 first-preference offers. Facilities include a library, tennis courts, sports hall, swimming pool, sixth form centre, dining hall, and chapel. Sports offered include cross country, martial arts, rowing, cricket, athletics, hockey, and basketball, while clubs range from choir and film club to Model UN, gardening, and science club. The school provides support for a wide range of SEND needs, including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 208 respondents between September 2024 and September 2025 show that only 35% would recommend the school, and significant proportions of parents disagreed that concerns are dealt with properly (57% disagree or strongly disagree) and that SEND children receive the support they need (76% disagree or strongly disagree). This school may suit families who value its broad facilities and range of extracurricular activities, but the data suggests significant challenges around behaviour, leadership, and parental satisfaction that should be carefully considered.

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