School Chooser

The Wilmslow Academy

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy389 pupilsNurseryWilmslowCheshire East
School Chooser Score
28
Below
similar schools
Likely range 15 to 50, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 30% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1160%England 63%
Attendance93.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families20%A bit fewer than most schools
Places31 spare389 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher21.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll389Census January 2026

The Wilmslow Academy is a converter academy in Wilmslow for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 389 pupils and room for 420. About 20 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 28 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it.

Handforth Road, Wilmslow, SK9 2LX01625 466910thewilmslowacademy.co.ukMrs C Clowes headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

60 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1160%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level8%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 55%55%20172018: 70%70%20182019: 63%63%20192023: 65%65%20232024: 69%69%20242025: 60%60%2025
Since 2017: +5%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017†Cheshire EastEngland
Pupils tested606157485047
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths60%69%65%63%70%55%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%10%2%15%12%2%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0105.0106.0105.0106.0104.0106.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0105.0104.0103.0105.0103.0105.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0107.0106.0106.0106.0105.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard70%79%79%75%84%68%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard70%80%79%71%78%64%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)78%84%77%83%74%72%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.3+1.0+1.0-0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.5-1.3+0.8-1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged33%47%50%47%36%27%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged71%76%71%72%83%64%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Dean Oaks Primary School, the school this one replaced in October 2016. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 4 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
33%71%
Gap 38 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
52%69%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
63%60%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%8%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places372 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
89% full

About 48 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll389Census January 2026
Places42093% full
Pupils from low-income families19%20% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English21%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support16%61 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%21 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.114 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils21%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)19%£105,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls211 / 178
White British pupils52%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.6 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.6 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (31), emotional and mental health (24), Autistic spectrum disorder (15), Specific learning difficulty (4), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3), Physical disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll389374365374358336
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals19%22%22%21%19%22%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language21%24%26%24%19%14%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support12%9%7%7%6%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%6%4%4%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.2%6.8%6.8%8.0%4.2%4.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence5.1%5.2%5.3%6.1%3.1%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.1%1.6%1.5%1.9%1.1%1.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.7%22.5%22.3%28.5%13.1%11.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.10.80.00.80.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers18.0full-time equivalent, 20 people
Pupils per teacher21.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,487
Teachers who left in the year18%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.42024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£6,313England £7,128. Total £2.4m
Income per pupil£6,471England £7,587. Total £2.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,110England £3,405
Money in reserve10%A healthy amount put by: £229k, £613 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£59kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,313spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m16512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate73 per 1,000 people20% lower than the England average
Typical house price£300,000Cheshire East
Nearest bus stop120 mOaklands Close, 9 stops within 500 m

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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St. Benedict's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles202Good 2022Compare
Lacey Green Primary AcademyAcademy1.2 miles424Good 202396Compare
Handforth Grange Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles340Outstanding 202490Compare
Moss Hey Primary SchoolCouncil1.7 miles186Report card 202686Compare
Thorn Grove Primary SchoolCouncil1.8 miles214Good 202484Compare
Gorsey Bank Primary SchoolAcademy1.9 miles422Outstanding 202396Compare
Outwood Primary SchoolCouncil1.9 miles202Good 202350Compare
St Anne's Fulshaw C of E Primary SchoolChurch of England1.9 miles72Good 202359Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares The Wilmslow Academy with the 46 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats30%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 28 is 21 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 49 · highest 96100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 46 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than The Wilmslow Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Ann's RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic8.9 miles415Good 202045Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 28 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 28% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 15 to 50. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.02
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 60 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.05
DfE progress measure; 60 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.10
2024/25; 341 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.06
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 60 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is The Wilmslow Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. The Wilmslow Academy scores 28 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 30% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 15 to 50, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

How good are The Wilmslow Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 60% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 8% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does The Wilmslow Academy have?

389 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 93% full.

Is The Wilmslow Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 48 places were empty in 2024/25 (11% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at The Wilmslow Academy?

Pupils were in school 93.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 20% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at The Wilmslow Academy?

The average class had 27.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 21% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Handforth Road, Wilmslow, SK9 2LX
Telephone
01625 466910
Website
www.thewilmslowacademy.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs C Clowes
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The Aspire Educational Trust (13 schools)
Local authority
Cheshire East
Ward
Wilmslow Dean Row
Constituency
Tatton
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 October 2016 (academy converter)
URN
143156 · LAESTAB 8953814 · UKPRN 10057527
Formerly
Dean Oaks Primary School

Where these figures come from