Star Salford Academy is an 11 to 16 secondary in Worsley, Salford, opened as part of Star Academies and built to serve a fast-growing local cohort. The headline here is accessibility. In the most recent published admissions snapshot for Year 7, all applicants were offered a place because applications did not exceed the published admission number of 150.
Leadership is also a defining feature. The academy principal is Miss Laura McBride, with an appointment date recorded as 01 June 2024.
Inspection information is limited because this is a newer provision. Ofsted’s report page for the academy currently shows no published inspection report.
A newer academy often feels defined as much by its systems as by its traditions, and that is likely to resonate with families who value clarity and consistency. The website’s leadership and curriculum structure emphasise a coherent whole-school approach rather than a patchwork of departments working in isolation.
It is also worth understanding the academy’s governance context. Star Salford sits within a large multi-academy trust, and that tends to bring shared policies, common standards, and trust-wide initiatives. For parents, the practical implication is that behaviour routines, curriculum sequencing, and enrichment opportunities may be shaped by trust strategy as well as local staff decisions.
Because there is no graded Ofsted judgement available yet, families should treat the school’s published information, open events, and direct conversations with leaders as the primary ways to assess culture, expectations, and how the academy handles behaviour and inclusion in practice.
The academy does provide a route to the Department for Education performance tables via its own performance page, which is where parents can check the most up to date public exam outcomes once they are available across multiple cohorts.
In the absence of a complete set of results metrics here, the most useful question for families is about trajectory and expectations: how the academy is building routines for reading, writing, and maths in Key Stage 3; how option pathways are guided in Key Stage 4; and what interventions exist for pupils who need either catch-up or stretch.
The curriculum is presented as subject-led, with dedicated pages for areas including English, mathematics, science, computing, design and technology, modern foreign languages, and humanities.
A practical example of specificity sits in English at Key Stage 4, where the curriculum outline references the play Blood Brothers as a text used to explore themes such as social class and inequality. For students, that kind of planning signals a deliberate approach to building analytical writing and cultural literacy, rather than relying on generic “skills” language.
Across several departments, the academy also references enrichment linked to subjects, including the use of specialist facilities in computing and design and technology. The implication for pupils is that the timetable is not the only learning space, there should be structured opportunities to practise, build, and apply knowledge beyond core lessons.
Star Salford Academy is 11 to 16, so the main transition point is post-16. Families should ask early about how guidance is delivered in Years 9 to 11, including how the academy supports applications to sixth forms, colleges, apprenticeships, and technical routes, and what employer or community links are available locally.
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Admissions are coordinated through Salford City Council as part of the secondary coordinated admissions process. For September 2026 entry, Salford’s published timetable states that applications open on 01 September 2025 and close on 31 October 2025, with national offer day notifications in early March 2026.
The academy’s published admission number for Year 7 is 150. In the most recent published snapshot on Salford’s admissions page, 187 applications were received and, crucially, all applicants were offered a place because the number applying did not exceed 150 in the way that triggers oversubscription prioritisation.
If the school becomes oversubscribed in a future year, the published oversubscription criteria on the Salford admissions page set out the priority order, including looked-after children, certain staff children, exceptional medical or social need, siblings, and then distance as the tie-break mechanism. The implication is simple: when demand rises, proximity can become decisive, and families should track each year’s pattern rather than assuming a place is guaranteed.
Parents comparing realistic chances should use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check their exact distance and to sanity-check the implications of distance tie-breaks in years when a school becomes oversubscribed.
99.0%
1st preference success rate
97 of 98 first-choice applicants received an offer
Places
109
Offers
109
Applications
187
The most reliable indicators here come from policy clarity and how routines are communicated, rather than inspection commentary, because there is no Ofsted report published yet.
A sensible approach for parents is to probe three practical areas at open events or tours: attendance expectations and punctuality routines; how the academy supports pupils who need additional help with organisation and behaviour; and how safeguarding information and reporting routes are communicated to pupils and families.
Enrichment is where newer schools can differentiate quickly, and Star Salford references several named initiatives and events that suggest a deliberate push on culture.
One strand is reading and literacy. The academy has published news about taking part in trust-wide reading initiatives for 2026, framed as building creativity, literacy, and a love of books. The practical implication is that reading is positioned as a whole-school priority rather than only an English department concern.
Another strand is the arts. The academy has highlighted involvement in a Star Arts Festival, linking enrichment clubs, performances, and cultural experiences, with an emphasis on confidence and creativity.
There is also a clear service and personal development pathway through Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, with Bronze described for Year 9 and Silver for Year 10. For many pupils, that is a concrete way to build independence, teamwork, and resilience, especially for those who may not be drawn to competitive sport.
Finally, for STEM-minded pupils, the academy has referenced visits and external experiences such as a National Space Academy visit, which can be a meaningful hook for students who learn best through applied projects and big-picture scientific ideas.
The academy day is published in a detailed bell-time format. Registration begins at 8.20am and the final lesson period ends at 3.15pm (Monday to Thursday timings are shown in the published schedule).
The admissions authority for Year 7 applications is the local authority coordinated process, with a published closing date of 31 October 2025 for September 2026 entry.
No published Ofsted report yet. With no inspection report available on Ofsted’s site, families should lean more heavily on open events, policies, and direct discussion with senior leaders about behaviour, safeguarding processes, and inclusion.
Results evidence is still emerging. does not contain a full set of GCSE performance measures, so parents should treat outcomes as an area to verify via official performance tables as cohorts mature.
Admissions may change as demand grows. The latest snapshot shows all applicants offered a place, but the published oversubscription criteria make clear that distance becomes the key tie-break if demand rises above 150 places.
Leadership is relatively recent. The principal’s recorded appointment date is 01 June 2024, which often signals change and development, but also means families should ask what is already embedded versus still being built.
Star Salford Academy looks best suited to families who want an 11 to 16 school with a clear published structure, trust-backed initiatives (notably around reading and enrichment), and an admissions picture that has recently been more accessible than many neighbouring secondaries. The limiting factor for some families will be the current lack of published inspection evidence and the still-developing public results record. For those comfortable evaluating a newer academy through its leadership, curriculum detail, and enrichment direction, it is a credible option to shortlist.
There is not yet a published Ofsted inspection report for the academy, so the usual quick headline judgement is not available. Parents should evaluate quality through leadership stability, curriculum clarity, attendance and behaviour routines, and how the academy demonstrates impact over time through public performance tables as cohorts mature.
Applications are made through Salford City Council’s coordinated secondary admissions process. The published window for September 2026 entry opens on 01 September 2025 and closes on 31 October 2025, with offers released in early March 2026.
The most recent published admissions snapshot shows 187 applications and confirms that all applicants were offered a place because the number of applicants did not exceed the published admission number of 150 in a way that required oversubscription prioritisation to refuse applicants. If demand rises in future years, the published criteria set out how places are prioritised, with distance used as a tie-break.
The published academy day starts with registration at 8.20am. Lessons run through to the final period ending at 3.15pm (with the full bell-time schedule published online).
The academy highlights trust-wide reading initiatives for 2026, involvement in arts festival activity, and a Duke of Edinburgh pathway with Bronze in Year 9 and Silver in Year 10. These give pupils structured ways to build literacy, creativity, and personal development beyond lessons.
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