Alder Community High School
Community school · 912 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.6
Academy converter
Dixons Pennine Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 592of 790 places
- Free school meals
- 43.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 105
- Ofsted
- Good, 11 June 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Copley High School (URN 106259, until 1 February 2013).
What the data says
Dixons Pennine Academy has no sixth form. Of the 110 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 22% moved to a sixth form college, 53% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
14% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 35.8 against 46.1 across England and 43.6 in Tameside, with 13% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Fine Art is unusually popular at GCSE: 36% of the year group took it, against 9% of pupils across England.
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 Tameside and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Dixons Pennine Academy | Tameside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 110 | 2,864 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 83% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 75% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 3% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 22% | 36% | 13% |
| — further education college | 53% | 43% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 14% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Dixons Pennine Academy | Tameside | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 35.8 | 43.6 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 13% | 41% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 34% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 27% | 35% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.93 | 3.81 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 35% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 31.6 | 35.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 38.9 | 47.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 7% | 15% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 105 | 100% | 86% | 10% | 21% | 43% |
| English Language | 105 | 100% | 89% | 8% | 20% | 46% |
| Mathematics | 105 | 100% | 88% | 5% | 22% | 47% |
| Combined Science | 92 | 88% | 65% | 2% | 9% | 15% |
| History | 78 | 74% | 41% | 10% | 26% | 35% |
| Geography | 58 | 55% | 41% | 12% | 25% | 29% |
| Fine Art | 38 | 36% | 9% | 11% | 28% | 71% |
| French | 21 | 20% | 18% | 14% | 29% | 52% |
| Physics | 13 | 12% | 23% | 8% | 46% | 92% |
| Biology | 13 | 12% | 23% | 15% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 13 | 12% | 23% | 8% | 47% | 92% |
| German | 8 | 8% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 50% |
| Modern Greek | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 45 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 40 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 38 | — | — |
| Multimedia | 22 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 15 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 14 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 13 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Tameside
All Saints Catholic College
Academy converter · 810 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.5
Audenshaw School
Academy converter · 1,077 pupils
88% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Denton Community Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,107 pupils
73% stayed in education
Dixons Ashton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,326 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.1
Droylsden Academy
Academy sponsor led · 926 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.7
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.