The Valley Leadership Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Lancashire
Fearns Moss, Bacup, OL13 0TG
42
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Requires improvement
Graded 19/09/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
84.6%
45.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
578
Capacity used
Has space55%
1,050 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
47 of 47 families who put it first got an offer
139
Places offered
117
Total applications
0.8
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 47 | 47 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 36 | 16 | ● 44% |
| 3rd preference | 34 | 9 | ● 26% |
| Total | 117 | 72 | 62% |
1st preference success by year
Lancashire lets families list 3 preferences. 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
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Lee Waring
- Address
- Fearns Moss, Bacup, OL13 0TG
- Phone
- 01706873896
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward / constituency
- Whitewell & Stacksteads · Rossendale and Darwen
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147018
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 42% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 2% | — | — |
| SEN support | 18% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: STAR ACADEMIES
578 pupils · 1,050 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
21 April 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Expected standard Achievement Needs attention Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Attendance and behaviour Needs attention Leadership and governance Expected standard Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard Post-16 provision Not applicable - 23
19 September 2023
Full graded inspection
Requires improvement overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 641 pupils
Attendance
84.6%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
15.4%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
45.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
13.3%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
7.8%
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 | 29.6 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -1.08 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 32% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 40% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 2.74 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 32.6 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 30.5% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 50% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 32.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.92 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 82 | — |
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 | 80 | 5% | 36% | 55% | |
| English Language | 80 | 11% | 40% | 56% | |
| English Literature | 80 | 16% | 50% | 64% | |
| Combined Science | 79 | 1% | 19% | 32% | |
| Geography | 46 | 7% | 22% | 37% | |
| History | 45 | 9% | 27% | 40% | |
| Art and Design | 37 | 0% | 0% | 5% | |
| Spanish | 28 | 0% | 0% | 25% | |
| Design & Technology | 11 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Religious Studies | 5 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| French | 1 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Biology | 1 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
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 Lancashire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
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.