Dixons McMillan Academy

About Dixons McMillan Academy

Dixons McMillan Academy in Bradford holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a downgrade from the Outstanding it achieved in 2017. The school’s Progress 8 score, which measures how much pupils improve between primary school and GCSEs, is -0.16. That is slightly below the national average of zero but marginally above the Bradford local authority average of -0.19, placing it 17th out of 34 secondary schools in the area. Nationally, it ranks in the top 60 per cent of schools. The Attainment 8 score of 47.8 means the average pupil leaves with just under a grade 5 per subject, and 50 per cent achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths. The school also pushes academic breadth: 81.6 per cent of pupils entered the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects, well above the national average.

Looking at the GCSE breakdown, the school’s strongest subject area is English, where the Progress 8 score is +0.01, meaning pupils make exactly the progress expected nationally. Maths is slightly below at -0.08, while the EBacc subjects overall come in at -0.15. The open bucket of qualifications, which includes arts and technical subjects, is the weakest area at -0.35. The EBacc average point score of 4.54 suggests pupils are typically achieving around a low grade 5 across those core subjects. With 36.8 per cent achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths, and 27.2 per cent at grade 4 or above across the EBacc, the school is performing in line with many similar urban comprehensives. The Progress 8 banding is rated as Average, which reflects a consistent, if not exceptional, level of academic progress across the board.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 133 places in the 2025/26 intake, there were 1,004 applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 7.55. Only 89 first-preference offers were made from 149 first-preference applications, so securing a place is competitive. Facilities include a swimming pool, astro turf, tennis courts, science labs and an ICT suite, and the school offers a wide range of clubs from Model UN and Debate to Eco Club and Orchestra. Sports on offer include martial arts, rowing and hockey alongside more traditional options. The SEND provision is comprehensive, covering dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, speech and language needs, and physical disabilities among others. With 33.9 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a significantly disadvantaged community, and its results relative to that context are respectable. It is a good fit for families who want an inclusive secondary with strong core teaching and a broad extracurricular offer, particularly those who can navigate a competitive admissions process.

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