School profile
The Valley Leadership Academy
Fearns Moss, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 0TG
Overview
The Valley Leadership Academy is a state-funded school (academy sponsor led) in Bacup, North West, for pupils aged 11–16. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.
School details
- Official establishment type
- Academy sponsor led
- Establishment group
- Academies
- Phase of education
- Secondary
- Age range
- Ages 11–16
- Gender of entry
- Mixed
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Sixth form
- No
- School capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 578
- URN
- 147018
Admissions
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Academy trust or group
- STAR ACADEMIES
Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.
School places
DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)
- Capacity at survey date
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 568
- Unfilled places at survey date
- 182
A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data
Official admissions data
Applications & demand
Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.
2026/27 admissions · Year 7
- First preferences
- 43
- Total preferences
- 105
- Offers made
- 104
Times the school was named as a family's first preference.
All recorded preference positions for this school.
Offers recorded through coordinated admissions, not physical capacity.
First preferences compared with offers
0.41 first preferences per offer
43 first preferences and 104 offers were recorded for 2026/27.
What does this mean?
This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.
First preferences over time
Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.
Admissions history
| Admissions year | First preferences | Total preferences | Offers made |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 43 | 105 | 104 |
| 2025/26 | 47 | 117 | 139 |
| 2024/25 | 74 | 159 | 134 |
| 2023/24 | 97 | 212 | 183 |
| 2022/23 | 100 | 188 | 144 |
Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.
Official performance data
School performance
Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.
Secondary
2024/25 results
Attainment 8 score
- School
- 32.6
- England
- 47.1
Pupils included: 82
Grade 5 or above in English & maths
- School
- 30.5%
- England
- 46.5%
Pupils included: 82
Grade 4 or above in English & maths
- School
- 50%
- England
- 66.4%
Pupils included: 82
Entering the EBacc
- School
- 32.9%
- England
- 41.5%
Pupils included: 82
Progress 8 was not published for 2024/25.
Source: Department for Education · School performance data.
Official inspection data
Ofsted inspections
Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.
Ofsted report card
Inspected 21 April 2026 · Published 7 June 2026
Renewed education inspection framework
- Safeguarding standards
- Met
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Early years (where applicable)
- Not applicable
- Post-16 provision (where applicable)
- Not applicable
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
Previous inspection information
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 19 September 2023 · Published 24 October 2023
Overall effectiveness: Requires improvement
Safeguarding was effective: Yes
Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.
School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.
Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school
Location
- Address
- Fearns Moss, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 0TG
- Local authority
- Lancashire
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