Academy sponsor led

Manchester Communication Academy

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formManchester, North West · Manchester M40 8NTTrust: Greater Manchester Academies TrustSchool website
Pupils on roll
1,240of 1,200 places
Free school meals
63.1%
Year 11 cohort 2025
262
Ofsted
Good, 21 May 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Manchester Communication Academy has no sixth form. Of the 222 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 22% moved to a sixth form college and 46% to a further education college.

Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 35% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.

GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 44.5 against 46.1 across England and 44.8 in Manchester, with 36% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

As an 11–16 school, Manchester Communication Academy is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Manchester and England.

This school
Manchester
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureThis schoolManchesterEngland
Pupils in the cohort2226,414607,348
Any sustained destination84%89%92%
Stayed in education81%86%86%
— school sixth form13%15%34%
— sixth form college22%30%13%
— further education college46%39%37%
— other education0%3%2%
Apprenticeship1%3%
Employment3%2%3%
No sustained destination9%7%6%
Destination unknown7%4%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureThis schoolManchesterEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)44.544.846.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths36%41%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths60%61%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects57%47%41%
EBacc average point score3.974.014.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort62%52%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils42.239.434.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils48.250.650.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language52%44%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
English Language262100%89%13%20%63%
Mathematics262100%88%12%22%64%
English Literature26099%86%13%21%71%
Combined Science22184%65%9%9%60%
Geography15258%41%13%25%44%
Spanish9135%19%23%27%64%
History8432%41%17%26%51%
French5621%18%14%29%68%
Computer Science5119%13%20%30%69%
Photography3614%6%25%19%97%
Textiles3413%2%18%27%100%
Fine Art3313%9%18%28%73%
Music3112%5%3%33%42%
Biology2911%23%66%45%97%
Chemistry2811%23%54%47%100%
Physics2811%23%50%46%100%
Religious Studies228%31%41%32%77%
3D Design197%2%32%16%95%
Graphic Communication187%1%56%23%100%
Drama176%7%0%27%24%
Arabic73%1%71%47%86%
Italian73%0%0%53%86%
Persian62%0%100%77%100%
Portuguese52%0%50%
Polish52%1%84%
Urdu31%1%42%
Russian31%0%87%
Chinese21%1%75%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Hospitality / Catering Studies70
Sports Studies68
Health Studies45
Music performance: Group43
Engineering Studies36
Childcare Skills23
Computer Appreciation / Introduction20
Music performance: Group1

Other secondary schools in Manchester

Cedar Mount Academy

Academy sponsor led · 724 pupils

83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.2

CHS South

Free schools · 1,177 pupils

85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.3

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.