Furness Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Westmorland and Furness
Park Drive, Barrow-in-Furness, LA13 9BB
58
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 13/03/2023
Application demand
96%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
90.7%
25.7% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,187
Capacity used
Nearly full99%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
96%
1st preference success rate
250 of 260 families who put it first got an offer
254
Places offered
389
Total applications
1.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 260 | 250 | ● 96% |
| 2nd preference | 88 | 4 | ● 5% |
| 3rd preference | 41 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 389 | 254 | 65% |
1st preference success by year
Westmorland and Furness lets families list 3 preferences. 2 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Helen Robinson
- Address
- Park Drive, Barrow-in-Furness, LA13 9BB
- Phone
- 01229484270
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Ward / constituency
- Ormsgill and Parkside · Barrow and Furness
- Area
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 135940
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 29% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 2% | — | — |
| SEN support | 11% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: FURNESS EDUCATION TRUST
1,187 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
13 March 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,220 pupils
Attendance
90.7%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
9.3%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
25.7%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
5.3%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.7%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 40.9 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.36 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 33% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 55% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.27 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 42.4 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 35.6% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 57.8% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 28.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.53 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 225 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 218 | 11% | 42% | 69% | |
| English Language | 217 | 14% | 46% | 65% | |
| English Literature | 216 | 12% | 42% | 64% | |
| Biology | 168 | 8% | 23% | 36% | |
| Chemistry | 166 | 7% | 20% | 35% | |
| Physics | 165 | 12% | 27% | 39% | |
| History | 111 | 11% | 35% | 44% | |
| Geography | 99 | 11% | 44% | 63% | |
| Art and Design | 54 | 11% | 69% | 78% | |
| Spanish | 48 | 10% | 31% | 38% | |
| Combined Science | 47 | 13% | 85% | 98% | |
| Design & Technology | 35 | 0% | 34% | 40% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Westmorland and Furness council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.