Rochdale Islamic Academy, Oldham Review 2026: Small independent girls’ secondary with an Islamic ethos and a clear improvement agenda

A compact girls’ school where faith and daily routine are closely linked. The day includes structured prayer times alongside a National Curriculum offer that is explicitly framed through an Islamic ethos, with Arabic and Islamic studies built in.

Recent external findings place the school in an improvement phase, with leadership working to tighten curriculum planning, raise consistency in teaching and embed stronger assessment practice across subjects.

For families seeking a smaller setting and a strongly values-led approach, this is a distinctive option locally. The key question is trajectory, parents will want to understand how quickly recent plans are translating into consistently secure classroom practice.

Religious identity is not a bolt-on here, it is the organising principle. The school describes its purpose as developing “responsible British Muslims” and places Islamic teachings alongside the National Curriculum, with a stated aim of supporting students academically and spiritually.

The day structure reinforces that identity. Prayer is timetabled for different year groups, and routine is used to reinforce expectations around conduct and community norms. For some families, that predictability is the point, it can create clarity and calm for students who respond well to consistent boundaries. For others, it may feel more prescriptive than mainstream alternatives, particularly where the school’s published admissions materials stress adherence to Islamic rules around dress, prayers and social conduct.

Leadership is a relevant part of the story at present. A new headteacher was appointed and was due to begin the role fully in January 2025, meaning the current strategy and systems are still relatively new in institutional terms. Parents considering entry will want to focus on how improvement actions are being embedded across departments and how leaders are tracking impact.

The physical setting also shapes daily experience. The school operates in a building described as a former music school that has been adapted for secondary use, with specialist spaces and practical facilities designed to support both learning and faith practice. That blend of specialist rooms and faith-specific provision is part of what makes the school feel reminder-led and structured rather than informal.

This is an 11–16 school with no sixth form, so the key published performance indicators relate to GCSE phase.

On FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 1,905th in England and 8th in the Oldham local area. This places results broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), rather than at either extreme.

Looking at the underlying GCSE metrics provided, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 46.9, and its EBacc average point score is 4.3. The EBacc figure sits above the England benchmark of 4.08 suggesting a slightly stronger picture in the EBacc suite than the headline rank alone might imply.

However, performance discussion cannot be separated from implementation quality. Recent external findings emphasise inconsistency in how well curriculum plans translate into well-sequenced teaching and secure student learning, particularly around identifying gaps and using assessment well across subjects. In practice, that means outcomes may vary notably between subjects, year groups and cohorts, and families should ask directly how the school is improving consistency, especially for students who need more structured support.

The curriculum intent is clear: the school describes itself as delivering a National Curriculum secondary education integrated with Islamic teachings, with Arabic and Islamic studies running alongside core academic subjects. The implication for families is straightforward. Students are not only learning within an Islamic ethos, they are also expected to develop fluency in Islamic knowledge and practice, supported by dedicated teaching structures such as weekly halaqa circles focused on beliefs, practice and Islamic history.

The current development priority is consistency and coherence. Across recent external findings, the recurring issue is not a lack of ambition, it is the degree to which curriculum policy, schemes of work, and assessment routines consistently take account of students’ needs, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, and then translate into teaching that reliably checks understanding and addresses misconceptions.

Where this matters most is for students who do not automatically “keep up” when teaching moves on. If assessment systems are not secure, gaps can persist unnoticed. For parents, the practical questions are: how does the school identify gaps in reading and subject knowledge; what interventions are used; how frequently do departments moderate standards; and how is staff subject knowledge supported where it is still developing. Recent monitoring notes indicate improvement activity underway, with some evidence of teaching improvement where leaders have prioritised staff support, but also describe the work as still early stage in key areas.

As an 11–16 school, the main destination decision is post-16 progression into sixth form colleges, school sixth forms, or vocational pathways.

The school’s own published material places significant emphasis on careers education, information, advice and guidance, describing a careers programme intended to raise aspirations and support realistic decision-making. In practice, the benefit of a smaller school here can be personalisation, when staffing and systems are strong, careers planning can be more individual and less “assembly-driven” than in larger secondaries.

What is not currently published in an accessible, quantified way is a clear breakdown of where Year 11 leavers progress, by institution type or typical local routes. Parents should therefore treat destinations as a due diligence area, ask what proportion typically progress to A-level routes versus vocational programmes, and how the school supports applications, interviews and transition for students who may need more structured planning.

Admissions are managed directly by the school rather than through Local Authority co-ordination, which is typical for independent schools.

Published admissions criteria indicate that applicants should be aged 11 to 16 (Years 7 to 11). Entry involves a Cognitive Abilities Test and entrance examinations set by the school after application, with an admissions test fee of £50 payable before the tests. The same published policy also sets expectations around compliance with school rules and regulations, including clear references to adherence to Islamic rules in school life.

The school’s admissions documents do not publish a full annual calendar of deadlines for 2026 entry in a way that is easy to verify. As a result, families should plan on direct contact with the school early in the year before intended entry, and treat testing and decision timelines as school-set rather than nationally standardised.

For parents using FindMySchool tools, this is also a good moment to use Saved Schools to keep track of application tasks and evidence requests (for example, test arrangements, documentation requirements, and any transition meetings), particularly if you are comparing several independent or faith-based options.

Pastoral support is a headline feature in the school’s own description. It states that an emotional wellbeing team supports students’ emotional, academic and social wellbeing, including counselling and staff with psychology backgrounds.

The practical mechanisms are also spelled out. Students can self-refer via lunch clinics, use a note box outside the pastoral office, or be referred by staff or parents, including in response to bereavement and bullying concerns. The mentoring model is described as layered: whole-school approaches (assemblies, guest speakers, peer mentoring), class-based sessions, small groups, and one-to-one mentoring with tailored targets and regular meetings.

For families, the implication is that support is designed to be accessible, not restricted to students in acute crisis. The quality check to make, particularly given the small size of the school, is capacity: how many counsellor days are available, typical wait times, and how mentoring links with academic intervention when wellbeing issues are affecting attendance or engagement.

Extracurricular life is closely tied to leadership, service and faith identity rather than a typical “sports first” model.

Student leadership is extensive in the school’s published outline. Opportunities include School Council, prefect roles, head and vice head girl roles, peer mentoring, reading leaders, charity leaders, a newsletter team, and leadership of lunch clubs, including debate clubs and support for younger groups. The value here is not simply CV padding. In a small school, leadership roles can be real work, students are visible, and responsibility can be a strong lever for confidence, attendance and maturity.

Faith-linked enrichment is also explicit. Alongside Islamic studies and Arabic, the school describes weekly halaqa circles, plus assemblies and curriculum-linked activities tied to significant Islamic events. For families who want school life to reinforce home values and identity, that alignment is a major draw.

Reading culture is another specific example. The library is described as refurbished with new furniture to create a lunch-time reading space, supported by Year 11 student assistants. Form time on Tuesdays and Thursdays is designated for silent reading, and themed events such as World Book Day are referenced as part of encouraging reading. That structure can help students build reading habits even where home routines are busy or screens are a competing pull.

Facilities also support broader participation. The school lists a large ICT suite, interactive whiteboards in most teaching rooms, a science lab for practical work, two halls used for assemblies and prayer, wudhu facilities, a large library, and a large enclosed playground with seating. In a school of this size, having multiple specialist spaces is meaningful, it helps avoid a narrow “one corridor” feel and supports more varied teaching modes.

The school publishes an annual fee figure on its website, currently shown as £3,800 plus VAT at 20%, stated as a total of £4,560. It also notes an additional £600 for Year 11 to cover GCSE entries and associated costs.

A separate published fees policy describes flexibility around payment schedules and notes a £50 admissions and exam fee at application stage. It also sets out sibling discounts of £200 for a second child and £500 for a third child.

Unlike many larger independent schools, the published information does not set out a bursary or scholarship programme with stated award values or eligibility thresholds. Financial support, where referenced, is framed through payment plans and fee arrangements rather than a formal bursary scheme. Families for whom affordability is borderline should therefore ask specifically what discretionary support exists, what evidence is required, and whether support is time-limited or reviewed annually.

The published school-day timetable shows a start at 8.50am and an end at 3.15pm, with break at 10.40am and lunch from 12.25pm. Prayer is scheduled by year group in the early afternoon, and timings are noted as changing with the clocks.

There is no published breakfast club or after-school wraparound offer in the same way parents might expect in a primary setting. Families who need extended-day childcare should ask directly what is currently available and whether any supervised study or clubs run beyond 3.15pm.

The school site is on Greenbank Road in Rochdale, so day-to-day logistics will depend on individual travel arrangements. Parents should factor in drop-off routines and local traffic patterns at peak times, especially if comparing schools with different start and finish times.

• Improvement journey and consistency. The latest monitoring outcome states that the school did not meet all the independent school standards checked, with remaining weaknesses around curriculum planning, assessment practice and meeting the needs of all learners consistently. This is a due diligence area, ask to see how improvement actions are being implemented subject by subject.

• A strongly prescriptive ethos. Published admissions policy materials place explicit expectations on adherence to Islamic rules in school life, including prayers, dress and conduct. That alignment is a strength for many families, but it will not suit every student.

• Limited published destinations information. Careers education is described, but there is no clear, current public breakdown of post-16 routes. Parents should ask how Year 11 progression is supported in practice and what typical destinations look like.

• Extra costs beyond core tuition. The website states that fees do not cover items such as uniform, stationery, lunches and trips, and Year 11 includes additional GCSE-related costs. Families should budget for these extras upfront.

Rochdale Islamic Academy, Oldham offers a distinctive proposition: a small, girls-only independent secondary that integrates faith practice, Arabic and Islamic studies with a National Curriculum programme and a clearly structured school day.

It best suits families who actively want an Islamic ethos to shape the academic day and who value a smaller setting with defined routines and visible student leadership opportunities. The main decision factor is confidence in improvement pace, parents should focus on curriculum consistency, assessment quality and how leaders are securing sustained progress after recent external findings.