Ormiston Chadwick Academy

About Ormiston Chadwick Academy

Ormiston Chadwick Academy is a school that clearly inspires strong local confidence. For the 2025/26 intake, it received 461 applications for 164 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.81, meaning nearly three families applied for every spot. Of those, 149 were first-preference applications, and 149 first-preference offers were made, so every family who put it top of their list secured a place. That level of demand suggests a solid reputation among parents in Halton. The school is a mixed, non-faith secondary for ages 11 to 16, with no sixth form, and currently has 921 pupils on roll against a capacity of 976. It does not have a published parent view score, but the sheer volume of applications is a strong signal in itself.

Academically, the school sits in a mixed position within Halton. Its Progress 8 score of -0.23 is classified as 'Below average' nationally, but it ranks second out of seven schools in the local authority, and comfortably above the Halton LA average of -0.57. That means pupils here make more progress than the typical student in the borough. Attainment 8 sits at 40.6, with 62% of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above in English and maths, and 37.5% achieving a grade 5 or above. The EBacc entry rate is 19%, and the EBacc average point score is 3.3. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, the school was rated Good overall, with Good across all categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. This was a downgrade from its previous Outstanding rating in 2016, but the school remains the second-highest ranked in Halton by Progress 8.

The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, tennis courts, sports hall, playing fields, astro turf, art studios, and even a chapel. Sports on offer include football, rowing, netball, rugby, cricket, gymnastics, badminton, swimming, and athletics, and there are clubs such as Art Club, Drama, DofE, Book Club, and Coding. SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication, hearing and visual impairments, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. With 51.4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, this is a school serving a community with significant disadvantage, and the strong local demand suggests it is seen as a stable, well-led option. It will suit families who want a secondary with good facilities, a broad sports offer, and strong SEND support, within a school that performs above the local average academically.

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