Armfield Academy
Free schools · 1,221 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 35.6
Academy sponsor led
Blackpool Aspire Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 799of 900 places
- Free school meals
- 66.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 158
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement, 5 June 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registrations: Bispham High School - An Arts College (URN 119734, until 23 July 2014); Collegiate High School (URN 119737, until 23 July 2014).
What the data says
Blackpool Aspire Academy has no sixth form. Of the 165 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 28% moved to a sixth form college, 47% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
12% 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 36.7 against 46.1 across England and 37.0 in Blackpool, with 29% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Art and Design is unusually popular at GCSE: 25% of the year group took it, against 7% 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 Blackpool and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Blackpool Aspire Academy | Blackpool | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 165 | 1,331 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 83% | 84% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 76% | 77% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 1% | 6% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 28% | 24% | 13% |
| — further education college | 47% | 44% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 5% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 12% | 11% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 5% | 5% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Blackpool Aspire Academy | Blackpool | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 36.7 | 37.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 30% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 51% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 4% | 18% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.06 | 3.16 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 61% | 48% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 34.3 | 29.7 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 40.6 | 43.9 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 11% | 11% | 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 Language | 155 | 98% | 89% | 9% | 20% | 60% |
| Mathematics | 155 | 98% | 88% | 10% | 22% | 63% |
| English Literature | 150 | 95% | 86% | 8% | 21% | 53% |
| Combined Science | 105 | 66% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 47% |
| Geography | 75 | 47% | 41% | 11% | 25% | 33% |
| History | 68 | 43% | 41% | 9% | 26% | 44% |
| Biology | 47 | 30% | 23% | 17% | 45% | 66% |
| Chemistry | 45 | 28% | 23% | 24% | 47% | 78% |
| Physics | 45 | 28% | 23% | 16% | 46% | 60% |
| Art and Design | 39 | 25% | 7% | 31% | 24% | 72% |
| French | 11 | 7% | 18% | 9% | 29% | 73% |
| Religious Studies | 6 | 4% | 31% | 0% | 32% | 67% |
| Photography | 2 | 1% | 6% | — | 19% | — |
| Statistics | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | 44 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 37 | — | — |
| Personal Health | 24 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 19 | — | — |
| Tourism | 15 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 13 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 13 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 13 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Blackpool
Highfield Leadership Academy
Academy sponsor led · 751 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 30.0
Montgomery Academy
Academy converter · 1,192 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.0
South Shore Academy
Academy sponsor led · 550 pupils
60% stayed in education · Attainment 8 26.3
St George's School A Church of England Academy
Academy converter · 1,038 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 55.5
St Mary's Catholic Academy
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,188 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.5
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.