Droylsden Academy

About Droylsden Academy

Droylsden Academy is a school that local families clearly want to get into. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 582 applications for just 172 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.38. Of those applications, 193 were first-preference choices, and 145 first-preference offers were made. That level of demand suggests parents who know the school rate it highly. The school is a mixed, non-faith secondary for ages 11 to 16, with no sixth form, and is run by Tameside local authority. It has a Good Ofsted rating, which it has held since its most recent graded inspection in 2017, and an ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed it remains Good. The headteacher is Ed Mayell. With 936 pupils on roll against a capacity of 930, the school is essentially full, and 38.1 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average.

Academically, Droylsden Academy performs solidly above the local average. Its Progress 8 score of 0.14 is rated as 'Average' nationally, but it sits well above the Tameside average of -0.19, placing the school 5th out of 16 secondary schools in the borough. That puts it in the top 31 per cent of schools locally. The Attainment 8 score is 46.9, and 63.7 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, dropping to 46.9 per cent at grade 5 or above. The EBacc average point score is 4.06, with 29.6 per cent of pupils entering the EBacc combination of subjects. Progress in English is slightly positive at 0.12, while maths progress is marginally negative at -0.1. The school's closest high-performing rival is Laurus Ryecroft, which sits 1.9 km away and has a Progress 8 score of 0.73.

The school offers a strong range of facilities including science labs, a swimming pool, a theatre, art studios, tennis courts, a sports hall, and a library. Sports on offer include cricket, rugby, netball, rowing, and gymnastics, while clubs range from the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and orchestra to coding, chess, and a newspaper club. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health needs, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, and other difficulties. This is a school that suits families who want a well-equipped, oversubscribed state secondary with academic results that are above the local norm, and who are comfortable with a large, non-selective, mixed intake.

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