The Fermain Academy
The Fermain Academy is a free schools alternative provision in Macclesfield for boys and girls aged 13 to 16. It has 21 pupils and room for 90. About 57 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.
Beswick Street, Macclesfield, SK11 8JF01625 611001thefermainacademy.orgMr Simon Cotterill headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 3 July 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that, although the inspectors did raise some concerns, so a full inspection will follow. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cheshire East council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (12), language and communications needs (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 21 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 57% | 67% | 59% | 43% | 50% | 33% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 25% | 6% | 0% | 50% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 0% | 18% | 29% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Hallows Catholic College | Academy | 180 m | 1,216 | No overall grade 2024 | 69 | Compare |
| Parkroyal Community School | Academy | 380 m | 411 | Report card 2026 | 36 | Compare |
| Park Lane School | Council | 680 m | 151 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| St John the Evangelist CofE Primary School Macclesfield | Church of England | 730 m | 237 | Good 2023 | 57 | Compare |
| The Macclesfield Academy | Academy | 740 m | 614 | Requires improvement 2020 | 13 | Compare |
| Ivy Bank Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 387 | Good 2023 | 50 | Compare |
| Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 84 | No overall grade 2025 | 70 | Compare |
| Ash Grove Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 227 | Outstanding 2024 | 72 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Fermain Academy a good school?
The Fermain Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in July 2024.
What is The Fermain Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Fermain Academy outstanding at its last full inspection on 3 July 2024.
How many pupils does The Fermain Academy have?
21 pupils aged 13 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 90 places, so it is 23% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Beswick Street, Macclesfield, SK11 8JF
- Telephone
- 01625 611001
- Website
- www.thefermainacademy.org
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Cotterill
- Type of school
- Free schools alternative provision (Free schools alternative provision, free schools)
- Phase
- Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 13-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Youth Engagement Schools Trust (7 schools)
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- Ward
- Macclesfield Central
- Constituency
- Macclesfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2015 (new provision)
- URN
- 141935 · LAESTAB 8951101 · UKPRN 10053515
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.