Unity College

Secondary · Burnley · BB11 3DF

Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: Requires improvementLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 20 February 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,402 pupils · 95% of 1,480 capacity

School type: Foundation school
Age range: 11–16
Gender: Mixed
Admissions: Non-selective
Free school meals: 34.8% of pupils
English as additional language: 8.5% of pupils
SEN support: 19.4% of pupils
EHC plan: 2.4% of pupils
Website: http://www.unity-college.com/
URN: 135003

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.85 first-choice applications per place

263 places offered · 224 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20

20/21

21/22

22/23

23/24

24/25

25/26

26/27

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

GCSE results (2024/2025)

276 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score

40.3

England 46.1

Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs

53.6%

England 64.8%

Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs

34.4%

England 45.4%

EBacc average point score

3.4

England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)

11.4%

England 6.5%

Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)

33%

England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher

15.2

England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£9,630

Typical secondary school£7,799

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, council-maintained school finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training

82%

Continuing in education

73%

Apprenticeship

Employment

Destinations measured the year after leaving, latest DfE destination measures release.

Inspection history since 2015

20 February 2024: Requires improvement (graded inspection)
6 November 2018: Good (graded inspection)
30 January 2018: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next (ungraded inspection)

Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.

Nearby schools

Burnley Brunshaw Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 0.1 mi
Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolNeeds attention · Primary · 0.3 mi
Burnley Springfield Community Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 0.5 mi
Rockwood Nursery SchoolOutstanding · Nursery · 0.5 mi
St Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyNot yet graded · Primary · 0.7 mi
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyNeeds attention · Secondary · 0.8 mi
Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolGood · Primary · 0.9 mi
Rosewood Primary SchoolNo current grade · Primary · 1.2 mi

See all secondary schools in Burnley →