Co-op Academy Failsworth
Academy sponsor led · 1,434 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 43.0
Academy sponsor led
Co-Op Academy Waterhead
- Pupils on roll
- 761of 1,500 places
- Free school meals
- 54.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 259
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 14 January 2025Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Waterhead Academy (URN 136148, until 1 September 2016).
What the data says
Of the 282 pupils who finished Year 11 at Co-Op Academy Waterhead in 2023, 34% moved to a sixth form college, 49% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 34.0 against 46.1 across England and 42.3 in Oldham, with 22% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 34% of leavers went to one, roughly twice the England rate of 13%.
Statistics is unusually popular at GCSE: 60% of the year group took it, against 5% 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 Oldham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Co-Op Academy Waterhead | Oldham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 282 | 3,389 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 84% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 1% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 34% | 35% | 13% |
| — further education college | 49% | 35% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | — | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 7% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Co-Op Academy Waterhead | Oldham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 34.0 | 42.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 22% | 37% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 39% | 58% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 43% | 41% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.98 | 3.69 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 50% | 38% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.8 | 35.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 38.1 | 46.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 52% | 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 | 256 | 99% | 88% | 7% | 22% | 46% |
| English Literature | 256 | 99% | 86% | 5% | 21% | 44% |
| English Language | 256 | 99% | 89% | 5% | 20% | 39% |
| Combined Science | 215 | 83% | 65% | 2% | 9% | 30% |
| Statistics | 156 | 60% | 5% | 3% | 20% | 57% |
| Geography | 136 | 53% | 41% | 6% | 25% | 26% |
| History | 112 | 43% | 41% | 7% | 26% | 40% |
| Spanish | 104 | 40% | 19% | 16% | 27% | 57% |
| Art and Design | 85 | 33% | 7% | 6% | 24% | 66% |
| Photography | 67 | 26% | 6% | 7% | 19% | 51% |
| Biology | 41 | 16% | 23% | 24% | 45% | 90% |
| Physics | 40 | 15% | 23% | 25% | 46% | 90% |
| Chemistry | 40 | 15% | 23% | 28% | 47% | 100% |
| Graphic Communication | 37 | 14% | 1% | 0% | 23% | 32% |
| Religious Studies | 29 | 11% | 31% | 10% | 32% | 62% |
| Physical Education | 27 | 10% | 11% | 0% | 24% | 33% |
| Citizenship Studies | 21 | 8% | 3% | 0% | 19% | 57% |
| 3D Design | 15 | 6% | 2% | 7% | 16% | 53% |
| Film Studies | 14 | 5% | 1% | 0% | 20% | 43% |
| Computer Science | 13 | 5% | 13% | 15% | 30% | 85% |
| Textiles | 12 | 5% | 2% | 0% | 27% | 83% |
| Italian | 8 | 3% | 0% | 88% | 53% | 100% |
| Urdu | 7 | 3% | 1% | 57% | 42% | 100% |
| Portuguese | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Management | 75 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 69 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 57 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 46 | — | — |
| Beauty Care / Services | 15 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 9 | — | — |
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.