Sapience Girls Academy Review 2026: Small Independent Girls’ Secondary with Strong Behaviour and Personal Development

A smaller roll can change the feel of secondary education, especially for families who want close oversight and clear routines. Sapience Girls Academy is an independent girls’ secondary for ages 11 to 16, registered for up to 100 pupils, with a roll in the mid double-digits at the time of the most recent official inspection.

The February 2024 Ofsted inspection graded overall effectiveness as Good, with Outstanding judgements for behaviour and attitudes and for personal development, alongside Good for quality of education and leadership and management.

Fee levels are comparatively accessible for the independent sector. Published annual day fees are £3,000.

This is a faith-based setting in practice, described as an Islamic faith school in official reporting, and its ethos is positioned as central to school identity.

The school positions itself as deliberately ambitious and values-led, with an explicit emphasis on purpose, conduct, and aspiration. In the most recent official narrative, pupils are described as motivated, respectful, and proud of the school, with positive relationships across the community.

A small roll typically means pupils become visible quickly, for better and for worse. Here, the evidence points to that visibility being used to reinforce routines and responsibility. Leadership roles are structured, and pupils are encouraged to contribute through formal responsibilities as well as service activities.

The faith dimension is not presented as a light overlay. The school’s own statements link ethos and curriculum to Islamic teaching and the pursuit of knowledge, and this context matters for “fit”. Families seeking an environment where identity, faith, and schooling are integrated are likely to see this as a feature rather than a trade-off.

On the FindMySchool GCSE measures based on official data, the school is ranked 2,775th in England and 13th in Oldham for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking). This places it below England average overall, within the bottom 40% of schools in England (60th to 100th percentile).

Looking beyond the headline rank, the available GCSE indicators show an Attainment 8 score of 39, and an average EBacc APS of 3.81. The EBacc APS sits below the England figure of 4.08.

Two implications follow for parents. First, this is not currently a results profile that sells itself on top-end exam metrics. Second, the school’s strengths, as evidenced elsewhere, are more convincingly about behaviour, personal development, and day-to-day culture, which can be decisive factors for some learners even when raw attainment is mixed.

Parents comparing options locally should use the FindMySchool Local Hub page to review these measures side-by-side with nearby schools using the Comparison Tool, rather than relying on a single headline figure.

Curriculum breadth is framed around the national curriculum in Key Stage 3, with a published subject list that includes separate sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), humanities, computing, art, physical education, PSHCE, and a modern foreign language identified as Urdu.

Key Stage 4 is presented as a GCSE programme where the majority of pupils are expected to leave with a minimum of nine GCSEs, with English language and literature, separate sciences, humanities, religious education, art, business studies, and Urdu included in the published outline.

The most useful “so what” for families is how well curriculum intent turns into secure learning. The latest evidence base indicates careful checking of what pupils know before moving on, and a curriculum that is generally delivered effectively. It also flags a practical challenge: new subjects have been added, and in those areas staff expertise is still developing, which can limit how highly pupils achieve in those subjects in the short term.

This is an 11 to 16 setting, so planning for post-16 is a core function rather than an optional extra. The school describes careers education as a structured programme from Years 9 to 11, including employer encounters, workplace experiences, a careers fair, CV writing, mock interviews, and workshops, with particular emphasis around National Careers Week.

In the most recent official account, pupils are described as having a precise understanding of future education, training, and career options, supported by a structured careers programme.

For families, the practical implication is that Year 10 and Year 11 should feel outward-facing, with guidance aimed at sixth form and college pathways rather than assuming one standard route.

Specific destination statistics are not published in the provided dataset for leavers, and the school does not present verified destination numbers in the accessible sections reviewed here. Parents who care strongly about progression patterns should ask directly about the main post-16 providers pupils move on to, and how many secure preferred courses, especially in competitive areas.

Admissions appear to be handled directly by the school rather than through a local authority coordinated process, with an application form available and references to an entry exam in the school’s fee policy.

A one-off £30 payment is stated as due with applications to cover entry exam costs, and the policy also describes an admission-related uniform bundle fee of £300.

For an independent school at this fee level, these up-front costs can be as consequential for some families as the annual fee itself, so it is worth clarifying what is included, what is optional, and whether payment plans are available.

The school’s public-facing pages reviewed here do not provide a clear calendar of admissions deadlines for September 2026 entry. In practice, many smaller independent secondaries operate rolling admissions where places are offered when availability allows. Parents should therefore treat timing as a risk to manage: enquire early, ask when assessments run, and confirm how quickly offers and acceptance steps follow.

If location is a deciding factor, families should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check practical travel distance and routes. For small schools with limited places, journey feasibility becomes part of “fit”, not an afterthought.

Pastoral systems are described as structured and proactive, with multiple referral routes, including self-referral and peer-referral, and a weekly collection cycle leading to one-to-one mentoring sessions.

This is a specific operational model, not just a general statement of intent, and it may suit pupils who do better when support is formalised and predictable.

Mentoring is positioned as addressing a wide spread of issues, including transition into secondary, relationships, attendance, confidence, bullying, and bereavement, with a stated aim of dealing with low-level concerns before escalation.

Safeguarding is also addressed in the latest official reporting, which confirms effective arrangements.

Extracurricular life is an area where smaller schools can either feel limited or feel intensely participative. The strongest available evidence here is that pupils do engage in a meaningful range of activities and service opportunities.

There is a clear creative strand. Pupils are described as accomplished artists, and writing is treated as a real output, with some short stories and poems reportedly published.

The practical implication is that literacy and creative expression can be more than a classroom exercise, and pupils who enjoy producing work for an audience may find this motivating.

There is also a defined cultural and faith-linked activity in Nasheed (singing), alongside team sport examples such as netball.

For a girls’ secondary without on-site large-scale sports infrastructure described in the accessible materials, the mention of netball and off-site physical education provision suggests sport is maintained through practical arrangements rather than relying purely on facilities.

Service and leadership appear to be treated as central, not peripheral. Eco-council activity is referenced through community clean-up campaigns, and pupils are described as participating in local service, including delivering food parcels during Ramadan and reading to residents in a nearby care home.

These are concrete examples of personal development being translated into action, and they may matter to families who want character education to show up in behaviour beyond the classroom.

Published annual fees for day pupils are £3,000.

The fee policy also clarifies that tuition fees do not cover several common extras, including uniform, lunch, trips, and some additional materials, so families should budget beyond the headline number.

There is no published evidence in the accessible materials reviewed here of means-tested bursaries or scholarship awards, which are common financial aid mechanisms in parts of the independent sector. Instead, the fee policy references a discount for a second child and a small reduction for paying the full amount at the start of the academic year.

Families who need affordability to be predictable should ask for a full written schedule of compulsory and optional costs, and confirm what happens if circumstances change mid-year.

Office hours are published as Monday to Friday, 8:15am to 3:30pm.

The public-facing pages reviewed here do not clearly publish pupil start and finish times for the teaching day, or wraparound provision. Parents who rely on specific drop-off and pick-up windows should confirm daily timings directly.

The school operates from a single site in Glodwick, Oldham, and physical education is described as largely taking place at a nearby sports centre, which is worth factoring into expectations about the PE day experience and travel arrangements within the school day.

• Academic outcomes are not the headline strength. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking places the school below England average overall. Families prioritising high-attaining peer groups and top-end GCSE metrics may want to compare carefully with alternatives.

• Curriculum change brings short-term variability. New subjects have been added and staff expertise is still developing in those areas, which can affect achievement until training and experience bed in.

• Faith integration is central. The school is described in official reporting as an Islamic faith school, and the ethos is presented as core to identity. Families should ensure this aligns with their expectations and values.

• Budget for extras, not just tuition. Published fee documentation indicates several common costs sit outside the annual fee, and there are up-front payments linked to application and admission.

Sapience Girls Academy offers a small-scale independent girls’ secondary model where culture, conduct, leadership, and personal development are clear priorities, backed by strong official judgements for behaviour and personal development. The trade-off is that attainment indicators and rankings are not currently positioned as the school’s primary differentiator.

Best suited to families seeking a faith-aligned environment with close supervision, structured pastoral systems, and a strong emphasis on behaviour and wider development. Families interested in this option should use the Saved Schools feature to track it alongside at least two local alternatives, then validate post-16 progression patterns and the full cost picture before committing.