The Macclesfield Academy

About The Macclesfield Academy

The Macclesfield Academy is a mixed secondary school in Cheshire East for pupils aged 11 to 16, and its current roll of 639 students already exceeds its official capacity of 600. That overspill is a practical signal of local demand, and the numbers bear it out: for the 2025/26 intake, the school received 227 applications for 119 places, with 114 of those applicants naming it as their first preference. Only 113 first-preference offers were made, meaning a significant number of families who wanted a place didn't get one. The school's proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 27.7%, which is notably higher than the national average for secondary schools and suggests an intake that draws from a less affluent catchment than many of its neighbours. Under headteacher Mat Galvin, the school has no religious character and operates as a standard state academy without a sixth form or nursery provision.

Academically, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2020 rated it as Requires Improvement overall, a grade it also held in its previous inspection in 2017. The breakdown shows a mixed picture: behaviour and attitudes, along with personal development, were both rated Good, while quality of education and leadership and management were judged to require improvement. The school does not have published Progress 8 or Attainment 8 scores in the data, so it is difficult to compare its academic performance directly against the local authority average Progress 8 of -0.17. However, the Ofsted report notes that the sixth form provision was not inspected, as the school does not operate a sixth form. For parents weighing options, the local context includes higher-ranked peers like The Fallibroome Academy and Sandbach High School, but those schools may be more selective or harder to access.

On the practical side, the school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, science labs, and a library, plus clubs such as orchestra, debate, Young Enterprise, and eco club. Sports on offer include cross country, hockey, basketball, and gymnastics. The SEND provisions are comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder, with a resourced provision also in place. Given the oversubscription ratio of 1.91, families living closer to the school or with particular needs may have an advantage in admissions. This school will suit families who value a broad extracurricular offer and strong SEND support, but who are comfortable with a school that is still working on improving its academic outcomes and leadership consistency.

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