Furness Academy Review 2026: Community secondary with ambitious curriculum, strong enrichment, and a clear behaviour culture

Built for scale and modern teaching, Furness Academy operates from a purpose-built £22 million building that opened in September 2013, a statement of intent for a school serving a large part of Barrow-in-Furness.

Today the headline picture is a school with clear routines, a strong focus on conduct, and a breadth of enrichment that goes well beyond the standard offer, including international exchanges and a notably developed music and performance strand.

Leadership has recently changed, with Mrs Helen Robinson now headteacher. The school describes her as the new headteacher, and she is named as head in both the school’s published information and the local authority’s September 2026 transfer booklet.

Academically, the school’s current GCSE performance measures indicate that outcomes and progress are below typical England levels, with progress measures signalling that many students, on average, do not make the gains seen elsewhere. That reality matters, but it sits alongside evidence of an improving culture and a deliberate attempt to align curriculum choices to both aspiration and local labour market opportunities.

Furness Academy’s identity is closely tied to being a large, community-serving secondary. Its age range is 11 to 16, and it operates at substantial scale, with a published admission number of 240 and a reported roll above 1,100 in the most recent local authority secondary transfer booklet.

Daily life is structured. The school sets out clear expectations for behaviour, equipment and routines, and it supports that with an extended day element for many students through a dedicated enrichment slot after core lessons. The published school day information differentiates slightly by key stage, with an enrichment period running after the main timetable.

The values language is consistent across the school’s public-facing materials. Core values are stated as respect, responsibility and relationships, and these are positioned as the foundation for culture and expectations.

A distinctive strength is how strongly the school positions opportunity as part of identity, not as an optional extra. The international strand is explicit, framed as a way to develop cultural capital and widen horizons for local students. Music is similarly presented as something many students can access, with instrumental opportunities and multiple ensembles and clubs named in curriculum documentation.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (13 and 14 March 2023, published 15 June 2023) rated the school Good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

Inspectors also confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Furness Academy is ranked 3,197th in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 2nd locally within Barrow-in-Furness. This places performance below England average overall, within the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure.

Key GCSE performance measures reinforce that picture. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 40.9, and Progress 8 is -0.36. A negative Progress 8 indicates that, on average, students make less progress from their starting points than students nationally with similar prior attainment.

The Ebacc-related indicators are also low in the available dataset. The percentage achieving grades 5 or above across the Ebacc is 3.3, and the Ebacc average point score is 3.27 (England benchmark: 4.08).

What does that mean for families in practice? It suggests that academic outcomes can be variable by subject and by cohort, and that students who are not already highly self-directed will benefit from strong home routines around attendance, homework completion, and early intervention if gaps appear. At the same time, the school’s public materials emphasise a planned curriculum sequence and a deliberate approach to clarifying what students should learn and when, which matters because consistency is often the difference between adequate progress and strong progress at key stage 4.

For parents comparing local options, the most useful approach is to view GCSE measures side by side with nearby schools using FindMySchool’s local comparison tools, then sanity-check the picture by looking closely at subject-level curriculum plans and the school’s support structures for key stage 4.

Curriculum intent is communicated through subject-specific pages that include both content and enrichment, which is a good sign of organisational clarity. Several departments explicitly list named programmes and competitions rather than relying on generic claims.

In mathematics, enrichment includes participation in UKMT Maths Challenges, AMSP competitions against other local secondary schools, and the BAE Top of the Form competition. The department also references transition work linked to Lancaster University for students considering maths-related pathways.

Design and technology is unusually detailed in its enrichment list. Named activities include a Year 8 STEM afterschool club, the Faraday Challenge, Rotary Challenge activity, windfarm workshops, a Big Bang Event, and specialist STEM days (including marine and transition-focused events).

In science, enrichment is framed around relevance and careers awareness, including participation in the “I’m a scientist get me out of here” online engagement platform, plus curriculum-linked STEM challenge activity and stated links with Lancaster and Manchester universities.

English includes a more explicitly cultural enrichment offer, with Book Thieves Club, Debate Club, theatre trips, literary-themed visits, and an in-house eMagazine.

This spread matters because it points to a model where departments are not only delivering exam specifications, they are also attempting to build subject identity and sustained motivation. For a large 11 to 16 school, that is often what helps students see why a subject matters, and it can improve persistence, especially in key stage 4 where confidence and attendance have an outsized impact on results.

Where Students Go Next

As an 11 to 16 school, Furness Academy’s primary destination focus is post-16 transition into sixth forms, further education and apprenticeships. The school’s careers guidance position is explicit about supporting positive transitions post-16, developing research skills for opportunities, and facilitating employer encounters.

The school also highlights a structured careers education, information, advice and guidance programme, framed around preparing students to make informed choices and build the wider skills needed for later training and work.

Partnership language is not abstract. The Ofsted report notes links with apprenticeship providers and local employers, and the school’s wider trust materials emphasise the local employment context, particularly engineering and related disciplines.

For students with SEND, the school states that selected students in Years 9 to 11 have careers meetings with Inspira to support decision-making about post-Year 11 options, which is a useful detail for families thinking ahead to transition planning.

Because the available destination dataset does not publish destination percentages for this school, families should treat destination planning as something to test directly: ask what proportion of Year 11 moves into local sixth forms, further education, and apprenticeships, and how the school supports students who need a more supported bridge into post-16.

For Year 7 entry, applications are coordinated through the local authority. For September 2026 entry, the Westmorland and Furness transfer booklet sets out an online application window opening on 3 September 2025 and closing at 11:59pm on 31 October 2025.

Outcomes are issued on 2 March 2026, with online applicants able to see the outcome that morning. The booklet also references reallocation activity after 23 March 2026 for any available places.

The local authority’s September 2026 booklet also summarises Furness Academy’s oversubscription approach. After students with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority is described in order including looked-after and previously looked-after children, siblings, children of staff employed by the trust (including recruitment for skill-shortage posts), then children attending other trust schools, followed by feeder-school criteria.

A practical implication follows from that ordering: families who are not in an early priority group should expect that the school’s intake is shaped not only by proximity but also by trust and feeder relationships. If your child is in a trust primary, or a named feeder setting, that can be relevant in a way it is not for a simple distance-only scheme.

Where catchment and distance are important to you, FindMySchool’s map-based tools are useful for understanding local patterns, but families should always check the current admissions documentation for the year of entry because priorities and named feeder relationships can change.

The school’s wellbeing materials are designed as a signposting hub for students and parents, covering a range of issues and directing families to appropriate support.

A core pastoral theme is readiness to learn. The school links academic progress to attendance and makes a specific claim that 96% attendance or above puts students in the best position to access the taught curriculum and benefit from wider activity, with a warning that attendance below that level raises concerns about progress.

Support for SEND is presented as integrated rather than separated. The school’s SEND page describes liaison and transfer work when students move between schools, and it flags targeted careers guidance support for some SEND students at key stage 4, which is an important indicator that transition is taken seriously for students who may need additional planning.

A fair, evidence-based reading of the school’s public documents and Ofsted findings is that pastoral work is aimed at making routines predictable, relationships consistent, and safety messaging timely. Those are especially significant for an 11 to 16 school where engagement and attendance often drive outcomes as much as curriculum content.

The extracurricular offer is one of Furness Academy’s clearer differentiators, particularly when you look at the specificity of named clubs and programmes.

Performing arts and student voice

English explicitly lists Book Thieves Club and Debate Club, and the Ofsted report describes opportunities to perform on stage at venues across the country. Drama adds a structured production model, including technical theatre through Tech Crew, plus extra-curricular rehearsals for assessed performances.

For students who find confidence through performance or leadership, this kind of structured programme can be transformational. It creates a reason to attend, a reason to practise, and a reason to persist when academic confidence dips.

Music with multiple access points

The music curriculum lists Furness Academy Orchestra, Trust Choir, Ukulele Club, Guitar Club and Keyboard Club, plus residential and performance trips (including an annual London performance trip). The Ofsted report also notes that many pupils take the opportunity to learn instruments including flute and violin.

This matters because music programmes in large secondaries often work best when there are multiple “on ramps”, beginners, ensembles, and less formal clubs, not just elite groups.

STEM and careers-linked enrichment

STEM is not limited to classroom claims. Design and technology lists a Year 8 STEM afterschool club and nationally recognised challenge formats such as the Faraday Challenge, plus employer and sector-linked days including marine STEM. Maths enrichment includes UKMT Maths Challenges and a named employer-linked competition, BAE Top of the Form.

For students motivated by engineering, manufacturing, or applied science pathways, these programmes can make subjects feel purposeful rather than abstract.

Sport and facilities at scale

The site is set up for substantial sport provision, and the school publicly lists facilities available for community hire: a floodlit 3G all-weather pitch, grass rugby and football pitches, five hard-standing tennis courts, an athletics track, a large sports hall, a multi-use games area, an activity suite, and a sprung-floor dance studio.

The implication is simple: sport is unlikely to be constrained by lack of space, which is often a limiting factor in urban secondaries. The more relevant question becomes how the school balances participation for all with competitive pathways, and how well it uses sport to support attendance and belonging.

Duke of Edinburgh and wider life skills

The school runs Duke of Edinburgh Award activity, and it publishes indicative participation costs for Bronze and Silver, including expedition transport and campsite costs, with equipment available to borrow.

International programme

The Furness International Programme is positioned as a deliberate strategy to widen horizons for local students. The Ofsted report references international exchanges to Germany and New York as examples of the experiences available.

The published school day starts at 8:40am. End times differ slightly by key stage, with Year 7 and 8 ending at 3:10pm and Years 9 to 11 ending at 3:15pm, followed by a Period 7 enrichment slot from 3:10pm to 4:10pm.

Transport-wise, this is a Barrow school serving local communities. Public bus services operate locally, and families who rely on buses should plan around the start time and the optional enrichment period, especially in winter months when journeys can be slower. The council’s bus service information and operator timetables are the most reliable places to check current routes and times.

Term dates are published in advance, including a detailed 2025 to 2026 calendar and a 2026 to 2027 schedule, which is helpful for childcare and holiday planning.

Wraparound care is not a standard feature in most secondary schools. Where before-school provision or breakfast provision exists, details are best confirmed directly because provision can vary year to year and may be targeted to particular groups.

• GCSE outcomes and progress. The school’s current GCSE performance measures indicate below-typical progress from starting points. Families should probe how key stage 4 support is targeted, and how quickly gaps are identified and closed.

• Large-school experience. With an intake size of 240 and roll above 1,100, the experience can suit students who like social breadth and a busy timetable. Students who need smaller settings may require more active pastoral planning.

• Admissions priorities can be nuanced. The published oversubscription approach includes criteria beyond simple distance, including trust and feeder relationships. Families should read the relevant entry-year admissions documentation carefully before assuming proximity is the deciding factor.

• The day can run longer than the headline finish time. The timetable includes an enrichment slot after the core school day. That is a positive for many students, but it affects transport and after-school routines for families.

Furness Academy is a large 11 to 16 community secondary that has invested heavily in the conditions for learning, a modern building, strong facilities, and a structured enrichment model. Its extracurricular breadth, particularly music, STEM challenges, international activity and sport, is a clear strength and can be a powerful driver of belonging for students who thrive on programme and opportunity.

Academic outcomes, as reflected in the available GCSE performance measures, remain a key point for careful evaluation. Families considering the school should focus on how the school supports key stage 4 learning, literacy, attendance, and subject-by-subject progress. Best suited to students who respond well to structure, value an active timetable beyond lessons, and will take up the school’s enrichment opportunities, with families ready to engage early if additional academic support is needed.