The Hyndburn Academy Review 2026: A United Learning 11 to 16 Academy with Clear Routines and a Strong Focus on Character

At drop off, the day starts early, with a free breakfast club from 8:00am and a tightly organised timetable that runs to 3:10pm, followed by enrichment and interventions through to 4:10pm. That structure matters here, because daily routines are used deliberately to support a calm, purposeful learning climate. The academy sits on Stourton Street in Rishton and serves students aged 11 to 16, with a published capacity of 675.

Leadership language is consistent across the school’s own communications, it frames the work around high expectations, pride in uniform, and a set of core values: Respect, Confidence, and Aspiration. The principal is Mr Umar Wazir, and the school is part of United Learning, a national multi academy trust with a clear emphasis on standards and character education.

This is a school that presents itself as structured and values led, with daily life shaped by consistent routines and a clearly stated expectation of polite behaviour and strong attitudes to learning. The language used on the school website repeatedly returns to ambition, pride, and consistency. That tends to suit students who do best with predictable systems and clear adult direction, and it can be reassuring for families who want firm boundaries alongside pastoral support.

House identity is also used to build belonging. The school’s house names appear consistently in school communications, including Jackson House, Turing House, Curie House, and Mandela House. Inter house sport and events are used as a visible motivation system and give many students a straightforward way to get involved quickly.

It is worth noting one point of practical clarity, the school publishes a detailed “academy day” breakdown, including lesson timings, break and lunch, and the post school enrichment window. That level of transparency is helpful when families are weighing travel time, after school responsibilities, and how a longer day might work for a particular child.

The headline indicators from the FindMySchool dataset suggest the current academic picture is challenging relative to England. At GCSE level, the academy’s Attainment 8 score is 38.1, and Progress 8 is -0.78, which indicates students, on average, make less progress than similar students nationally across eight subjects. EBacc average point score is 3.25, and 8.4% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects measure. (Performance and rankings in this section reflect the FindMySchool ranking set, based on official outcomes data.)

In the FindMySchool GCSE rankings, the academy is ranked 3,199th in England and 13th in the Blackburn local area for GCSE outcomes. That places it below England average overall, within the lower performing band nationally. For parents, the implication is that the strongest questions to ask are about improvement strategy, subject consistency, and how the school targets progress from Year 7 through Year 11, rather than relying on a headline reputation.

The results picture also makes curriculum execution important. When a school is working to raise outcomes, the detail of how knowledge is sequenced and taught, and how gaps are identified early, becomes the core story. This is an area where families should look for specifics during open events and conversations, for example, how literacy is supported across subjects, how intervention is targeted, and how options are guided at Key Stage 4 so students choose courses that keep doors open without setting them up to struggle.

The curriculum information published by the academy shows a broad secondary offer across the usual core subjects plus technology, arts, physical education, personal, social, health and economic education, and languages, with options at Key Stage 4 that include Travel and Tourism and Computer Science for suitable candidates. The options guidance also signals that some subjects have entry expectations, which can be useful when a student has a clear direction and needs an appropriate level of challenge.

For many families, the practical implication is that teaching and learning here is likely to suit students who respond to clear criteria, regular assessment points, and explicit routines. Where a child needs learning to be highly personalised or unusually flexible, it is sensible to ask how the school adapts classroom practice and how quickly support is deployed when a student falls behind.

This is an 11 to 16 school with no sixth form, so the key transition is post 16. The academy’s own communications show a strong emphasis on careers and post 16 guidance as part of the student experience, and the wider local context in East Lancashire offers multiple routes, including sixth forms, colleges, and technical pathways.

Because published destination statistics are not provided for this school, families should treat post 16 planning as a core part of the Year 9 to Year 11 journey. A practical approach is to ask how early careers guidance begins, how option choices are aligned to likely next steps, and whether the school has structured encounters with local colleges, apprenticeship providers, and employers.

Year 7 admissions are coordinated through Lancashire County Council, rather than directly by the academy. For entry in September 2026, applications open on 1 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025. Offers are issued on Monday 2 March 2026, which is the next working day after the national offer date when it falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

The school’s published admissions arrangements indicate an agreed admission number of 135 students for the relevant intake year, and the policy confirms participation in Lancashire’s coordinated admissions process.

Open events matter here, because they give families the most direct view of culture, routines, and how the school supports learning. Lancashire’s secondary admissions booklet for 2026 entry notes that an event is planned for 1 October 2025, with the usual advice to confirm details with the school.

The academy positions itself around a culture of high expectations alongside inclusion. On the practical side, the published day structure includes an explicit enrichment and intervention window after 3:10pm, which is often where schools place academic catch up, mentoring, and targeted pastoral support. That can be an advantage for students who need additional help but would not benefit from informal or ad hoc support.

The most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out on 30 March 2022, judged the school Good, with all key areas also graded Good.

The school’s recent news stream gives useful clues about what enrichment looks like in practice. One example is the Spotlight student rewards initiative, which indicates a deliberate approach to recognition and motivation rather than relying only on sanctions. The implication for families is that behaviour systems are likely to include positive reinforcement that students can understand and aim for.

Another example is the weekly fishing intervention at Cornfield Fishery, which signals that the school uses non standard experiences as part of support and engagement, particularly for students who benefit from calm, focused activities outside the classroom.

Sport and house competition also appear regularly, including inter house cross country with named house teams and pathways into inter school fixtures. For students who thrive on team identity and competitive motivation, this can provide a straightforward way to connect with school life, even if they are not naturally academic.

The academy publishes a detailed daily timetable. Free breakfast club runs from 8:00am to 8:30am, students arrive at 8:30am, and the main school day ends at 3:10pm. Enrichment activities, consequences, and intervention sessions run from 3:10pm to 4:10pm, and the compulsory week totals 32 hours and 30 minutes.

For transport, the school runs dedicated bus services provided by Red Rose Buses serving surrounding areas of Hyndburn, with payment taken on the bus. For rail, Rishton station is a local option, with wider connections available via larger nearby stations such as Blackburn.

• Academic outcomes are currently below England average. Progress 8 is -0.78, so families should ask detailed questions about improvement priorities, subject consistency, and how progress is tracked from Year 7.

• The culture appears strongly routine driven. That can be a strength for many students, but children who struggle with strict uniform, punctuality, or consistent behaviour systems may need extra support to settle well.

• The day can extend beyond 3:10pm. The enrichment and intervention slot to 4:10pm can be beneficial, but families should plan for travel, care arrangements, and how often after school sessions are expected.

The Hyndburn Academy presents as a structured, values led secondary in Rishton with a clear routine, early start, and an explicit enrichment and intervention window built into the day. The current results picture is the key issue for many families, so the quality of teaching consistency and the credibility of the improvement plan should be central to any decision. This school suits students who benefit from clear expectations, predictable systems, and a strongly managed school day, particularly where routine and targeted support help a child stay engaged.