Co-Op Academy Waterhead
Academy sponsor led · 761 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 34.0
Academy sponsor led
Co-op Academy Failsworth
- Pupils on roll
- 1,434of 1,500 places
- Free school meals
- 44.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 272
- Ofsted
- Good, 5 June 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Failsworth School (URN 105735, until 27 March 2017).
What the data says
Co-op Academy Failsworth has no sixth form. Of the 271 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 17% moved to a sixth form college, 53% to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 20% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 43.0 against 46.1 across England and 42.3 in Oldham, with 31% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Co-op Academy Failsworth 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 Oldham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Co-op Academy Failsworth | Oldham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 271 | 3,389 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 90% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 79% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 10% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 17% | 35% | 13% |
| — further education college | 53% | 35% | 37% |
| — other education | — | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Co-op Academy Failsworth | Oldham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 43.0 | 42.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 37% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 58% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 19% | 41% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.49 | 3.69 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 38% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 37.3 | 35.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.0 | 46.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 7% | 31% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 272 | 100% | 88% | 12% | 22% | 65% |
| English Language | 272 | 100% | 89% | 9% | 20% | 61% |
| English Literature | 271 | 100% | 86% | 7% | 21% | 56% |
| Combined Science | 255 | 94% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 49% |
| History | 147 | 54% | 41% | 17% | 26% | 47% |
| Geography | 80 | 29% | 41% | 3% | 25% | 41% |
| Spanish | 75 | 28% | 19% | 21% | 27% | 76% |
| Citizenship Studies | 73 | 27% | 3% | 15% | 19% | 66% |
| Fine Art | 61 | 22% | 9% | 11% | 28% | 84% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 60 | 22% | 8% | 10% | 21% | 62% |
| Photography | 55 | 20% | 6% | 7% | 19% | 67% |
| Computer Science | 35 | 13% | 13% | 26% | 30% | 86% |
| Music | 23 | 8% | 5% | 35% | 33% | 87% |
| Biology | 17 | 6% | 23% | 24% | 45% | 94% |
| Physics | 16 | 6% | 23% | 25% | 46% | 94% |
| Chemistry | 16 | 6% | 23% | 31% | 47% | 94% |
| French | 10 | 4% | 18% | 60% | 29% | 80% |
| Drama | 8 | 3% | 7% | 25% | 27% | 63% |
| Religious Studies | 5 | 2% | 31% | — | 32% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 0% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Urdu | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 140 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 69 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 50 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 38 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 34 | — | — |
| Art and Design | 33 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 20 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Oldham
E-ACT Royton and Crompton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 975 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.7
E-ACT the Oldham Academy North
Academy sponsor led · 1,258 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.2
North Chadderton School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,524 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.8
Oasis Academy Leesbrook
Free schools · 1,349 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.5
Oasis Academy Oldham
Academy sponsor led · 1,415 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
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.