Penwortham Priory Academy

Academy converter·Secondary school Preston, Lancashire·PR1 0JE
Composite score
54.0
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#2,030
National rank
#255
In North West
#47
In Lancashire
Top 64%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
43.2
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
38%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
60%
% EBacc grade 5+
5%
EBacc average points score
3.73

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
85%
164 first choices, 151 places
First choices per place
1.09
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
513
any preference, for 151 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
1.1420221.0120230.9320241.0220251.092026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Lancashire does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Penwortham Priory Academy. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
744
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
26.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
5.4%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.7%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.7%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
10.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
28.8%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
18.1
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,311
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
91%
172 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
82%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Penwortham Priory Academy at a glance

Located in Preston, Lancashire, Penwortham Priory Academy is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 744 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 43.2, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 2.7 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

38% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 85% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (164 first choices for 151 places). After Year 11, 91% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 10.7%. There are about 18.1 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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