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State secondary · 11 to 16 · Mixed · 661 pupils

Padgate Academy

Insall Road, Warrington, WA2 0LN
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COULD YOUR CHILD GET IN? · YEAR 7 2027

Enter your postcode to see how far it is from your home.

Warrington Borough Council publishes no last distance offered for this school in the years we hold (2021 to 2026). Check your postcode for the distance from your home.

Free, no account needed. Your postcode is used for this check and not kept.
Ofsted: Good · May 2023(12/12)Fewer first choices than places (2026)
School website ↗Google Maps ↗Directions ↗Ofsted reports ↗DfE results ↗Government register ↗

Summary

The key facts, in one place
GCSE (key stage 4) The league rank: the school's place among its council's schools of the same phase on the newest year's DfE results, the same rank as on the Schools map. In England: 2,387th of 3,223 on the same figure. Band: Lower half.
(12/12)Rank among 12 Warrington secondaries with results, 2026 results (Attainment 8)
See the Warrington league table →
Inspection
Good, May 2023
Results
-0.66 progress 8; 41.6 attainment 8
Size
661 pupils; 160 places a year; classes of 21
Run by
The Challenge Academy Trust
Type
Academy sponsor led
Ages
11 to 16 · Mixed
Ofsted, May 2023The judgements from the school's latest inspection. Reports from November 2025 use Ofsted's new report card, with different headings; we show whichever the latest report uses.Read the report ↗
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour and attitudesGood
Leadership and managementGood
Strengths, and things to check
  • Progress 8: -0.66, against -0.04 in Warrington.
  • Attainment 8: 41.6, against 49.4 in Warrington.
  • English and maths, grade 5+: 26%, against 51% in Warrington.
  • Persistently absent: 25.7%, against 22.5% in Warrington.
Schools for usRank every school near you by the measures that matter to your family, each reason shown.Rank schools →

At a glance

Against Warrington and England
This schoolWarringtonEnglandHover or tap a bar for the figures
Academic
Progress 8How far pupils progressed between the end of primary school and GCSEs, against pupils across England who started at the same level. 0 is average; +0.5 means half a grade better in each subject.
-0.66
Worse than Warrington
Attainment 8The average GCSE score across eight subjects, including English and maths counted twice. A grade 5 in all eight would score 50.
41.6
Worse than Warrington
English and maths, grade 5+The share of pupils with grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE (a strong pass).
26%
Worse than Warrington
Attendance and behaviour
Sessions missedHalf-day sessions missed, authorised or not, as a share of all sessions in the school year (DfE pupil absence). Lower is better.
8.0%
In line with Warrington
Persistently absentPupils who missed one session in ten or more. Lower is better.
25.7%
Worse than Warrington
Suspensions per 100 pupilsSuspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Lower is better; one or two incidents move a small school a lot.
16.0
Worse than Warrington
Pupils and classes
Average class sizeAverage pupils per class, from the school census. Shown for context, not as a score.
21.3
Context
Free school mealsPupils eligible for free school meals. Context for reading the results, not a measure of the school.
51%
Context
Pupils for each teacherPupils on roll for each full-time teacher, from the school workforce census. Shown for context.
15.4
Context
Demand for places
First choices per placeFamilies who put this school first, for each Year 7 place in 2026 (DfE applications and offers). Above 1 means more first choices than places.
0.8
Less sought after than Warrington
Warrington and England: DfE's own averages for results. For the rest, the middle state secondary school of the same phase, from every school we hold, since DfE publishes no council figure we hold.Where these figures come from →

Overview

Getting in

  • 121 families put it first for 160 places; every one of them got in DfE, school applications and offers · Year 7 2026
  • We hold no catchment map for this school, so we can't say which addresses are inside it.

Quality

  • Good Ofsted · inspected 23 May 2023
  • Progress 8: -0.66 (England +0.01) (county -0.04) DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024
  • Attainment 8: 41.6 (England 47.4) (county 49.4) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • English and maths grade 5 or above: 26% (England 48%) (county 51%) DfE school performance tables · 2025/2026
  • Progress, set against pupils who started with the same results: well below average DfE school performance tables · 2023/2024

Daily life

  • Absence: 8.0% of sessions missed; 26% of pupils miss 1 in 10 or more. Schools with a similar intake: 9.7% and 29% DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level · 2024/25
  • Suspensions: 16 per 100 pupils (schools with a similar intake: 26); 1 permanent exclusion DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level · 2024/25
  • Classes average 21.3 pupils; 0.0% of classes have more than 30 DfE, school workforce and pupil census · 2025/26
  • 15.4 pupils for each teacher DfE, school workforce · November 2025
  • Nearest stops, in a straight line: bus 99 m, rail 583 m DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) · within 800 m
  • 19 police-reported road collisions within 500 m (0 fatal, 3 serious) DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years · 2021 to 2025
  • Air: nitrogen dioxide 10.7 µg/m³, PM2.5 6.7 (1 km square, background level) DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps · 2024

Who runs it

  • The Challenge Academy Trust, with 14 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined December 2018
  • Opened as an academy (sponsored) on 1 December 2018 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced University Academy Warrington (URN 139072) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 December 2018
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Getting in

How far offers reached

How far away the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, as the council measures it. It changes every year with who applies: a record, not a promise. Children with a higher priority can be offered places from further away.

Year 7. Distance of the last child offered a place on offer day. What the last distance means →

Offer day, year by year

EntryYearPlacesApplicationsOfferedRefusedLast distance (miles)
Year 72026180—160——
Year 72024150—141——
Year 72023150—139——
Year 72022150—118——
Year 72021150—107——
Year 72020150—147——

Source: Council offer-day figures: Warrington Borough Council, 2020 to 2026. A dash is a figure the council does not publish, not nought. Distances are straight lines from the school.

Applications and offers, DfE

EntryYearPlacesFirst choicesAny choiceFirst choices offered
Year 72026160121307121
Year 72025141105266105
Year 720241408523985
Year 720231396722866
Year 720221185819058
Year 720211095116751
Year 720201457218972
Year 720191476720766

Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence), 2019 to 2026. Families name up to three schools, so most applications are somebody's second or third choice.

Could you get in?Enter a home or postcode: we set it against every year's last offer and this school's rules.

Results

Results

MeasureThis schoolEnglandCouncilYear
Progress 8-0.66+0.01-0.042023/2024
Attainment 841.647.449.42025/2026
English and maths grade 5 or above26%48%51%2025/2026

Source: DfE school performance tables, 2023/2024, 2025/2026.

League table place

TableLeague rank
GCSE (key stage 4)(12/12)

Source: DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase.

Inspections

DateKindOutcome
23 May 2023Graded inspectionGood

Source: Ofsted, 2023.

Where leavers go

StageLeavers inPupilsIn a sustained placeOf which
After GCSEs2023/2412786%In education 80%; Apprenticeship 3.1%; Employment 3.1%
After GCSEs2022/238383%In education 80%; Apprenticeship 1.2%; Employment 2.4%
After GCSEs2021/228279%In education 72%; Apprenticeship 2.4%; Employment 4.9%

Source: DfE, destination measures. A figure DfE hides for a small group is left out, not shown as nought. The newest year may be provisional.

Warrington league tableEvery school of this phase in the council on these results.See the table →

Daily life

Absence

YearSessions missedAuthorisedUnauthorisedPupils missing 1 in 10Pupils missing 1 in 2
2024/258.0%3.6%4.5%26%2.5%
2023/248.9%3.6%5.3%28%2.6%
2022/239.5%3.3%6.2%28%4.3%
Schools with a similar intake9.7%29%

Source: DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level, 2024-25. Similar intake: state schools of the same phase with free school meals in the same band (40% or more), the median of 758 schools.

Suspensions and exclusions

YearSuspensions per 100 pupilsPupils suspendedSuspensionsPermanent exclusions
2024/2516.07.8%1031
2023/2417.98.2%1130
2022/2317.77.6%1022
Schools with a similar intake25.9

Source: DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level, 2024-25.

Class sizes and staff

MeasureFigureYear
Average class size21.32025/26
Classes over 30 pupils0.0%2025/26
Pupils for each teacher15.4November 2025

Source: DfE, school workforce; school census, 2025/26.

Stops nearby

KindNearest (metres, straight line)
bus99
rail583

Source: DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes), current. A stop across a railway or main road may be a long walk. Bus frequency is not held.

Road collisions within 500 m

YearCollisions
20256
20245
20233
20223
20212

Source: DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years, 2021 to 2025. 3 serious and 0 fatal in all; 7 involved a pedestrian, 3 a cyclist. Only collisions with an injury reported to police are counted.

Air quality

PollutantAnnual mean (µg/m³)Year
NO210.72024
PM1010.72024
PM256.72024

Source: DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps. A 1 km background figure: not the air at the school gate beside a busy road.

Pupils

Who goes there

MeasureShare of pupilsYear
Eligible for free school meals51%2025/26
First language other than English22%2025/26
SEN support20%2025/26
Education, health and care plan7.7%2025/26
Girls52%2025/26

Source: DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs, 2025/26.

Who runs it

Who runs it

  • The Challenge Academy Trust, with 14 schools DfE, Get Information about Schools: group links · joined December 2018
  • Opened as an academy (sponsored) on 1 December 2018 DfE, open academies list
  • Replaced University Academy Warrington (URN 139072) DfE, Get Information about Schools: links · 1 December 2018
  • We can't compare results before and after it converted: we hold results for only one side of the date, because DfE publishes a few years at a time.

Area

Homes in reach of this schoolLook up any home near here: its sales, an open-data valuation, and which schools it keeps in reach.Search homes →

Sources

  • Council offer-day figures: Warrington Borough Council
  • DEFRA, Pollution Climate Mapping (PCM) 1 km background maps
  • DfE school performance tables
  • DfE school performance tables: the newest year's results, place among the council's schools of the same phase
  • DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence)
  • DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England: absence rates by school level
  • DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England: school level
  • DfE, destination measures
  • DfE, school workforce; school census
  • DfE, schools, pupils and their characteristics; special educational needs
  • DfT, NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes)
  • DfT, Road safety data (STATS19): collisions and casualties, last five years
  • Ofsted
  • School register: DfE Get Information about Schools (this school)
  • How we check these figures: How we know

More in schools in Warrington and the Warrington league table. School register: DfE Get Information about Schools, updated 17 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.