Bamford Academy, Manchester
Bamford Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Manchester, part of Altus Education Partnership. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 161st-highest of the 258 schools in Manchester with published results, and 9,396th of 14,452 across England. It was 83% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Rochdale (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Bamford Academy in detail
Bamford Academy in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "'Working together to develop lifelong learners who are happy, ambitious and curious about the world around them.' I would like to extend a warm welcome to Bamford Academy - a vibrant and wonderfully diverse school in Rochdale. I am proud to be the Headteacher at a school filled with happy and articulate children and working alongside an amazing, committed staff."
Coming up: an open day on Wednesday 4 November 2026 and an open day on Saturday 7 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Rochdale
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Open days on the school's site (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils at Bamford Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 68% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 73% in Rochdale and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 84% in reading and 72% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Bamford Academy
For September 2026 entry, 26 families put Bamford Academy as their first choice and 115 named it as one of their preferences, for 40 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Bamford Academy are St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford (0.8 miles, Outstanding, 83% reading, 83% maths); Whittaker Moss Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 86% reading, 82% maths); Caldershaw Primary School (0.8 miles); and St Vincent De Paul Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy (0.8 miles).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Bamford Academy.
St Michael's Church of England Primary School, BamfordWhittaker Moss Primary SchoolCaldershaw Primary SchoolSt Vincent De Paul Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy
The trust
Bamford Academy is one of 5 schools run by Altus Education Partnership, an academy trust.
Who goes there
16.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are Asian (64%) and White British (29%).
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Heywood (East Lancashire Railway), about 1.7 miles away in a straight line.
5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Belgium Street (near), 180 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Bamford Academy issued 9 suspensions, 2.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Bamford Academy are Oulder Hill Leadership Academy (0.8 miles) and Matthew Moss High School (1.1 miles).
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from October 2013, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its October 2013 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
16.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 84% to 77% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 72% to 68% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 77% to 61% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
25.0
Avg class size
21.7
Infant (KS1)
28.3
KS2
12
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Bamford Academy
Before and after school care
Bamford Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Rochdale
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Bamford Academy.
- Moo Holiday Hub190m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Bamford Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Rochdale's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Bamford Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Bamford Academy is in Rochdale; for families living there:
- Rochdale's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy
- How to apply: Apply for school travel expenses
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 5
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 5 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Rochdale is 10 (the median across 106 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Bamford Academy
Will you get a place at Bamford Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Bamford Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Bamford Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Bamford Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Rochdale, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Bamford Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Rochdale got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
83%
Available places
350 pupils
420 places
70 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Manchester
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Manchester
Across Rochdale council
Places available
3,242
Applications
2,831
Got 1st preference
89.2%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All primary applications across Rochdale council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(4)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
57
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
21.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
324
Total Pupils
167
Boys
157
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
17
Teachers
19.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,839
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£4,973
Per pupil
£2030k
Total funding
£86k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.7%
Overall absence
19.1%
Persistent absence
325
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Bamford Academy
Questions parents ask about Bamford Academy
What are SATs results like at Bamford Academy?
Of the pupils at Bamford Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 77% reached the expected standard in reading and 68% did so in maths.
What is Bamford Academy's Ofsted rating?
Bamford Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Bamford Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Bamford Academy is oversubscribed, Rochdale allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Bamford Academy?
Bamford Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 83% of its 420 places.
How big are the classes at Bamford Academy?
Classes at Bamford Academy average 25 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Bamford Academy?
Bamford Academy has around 324 pupils on roll. 16% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Bamford Academy?
6.7% of sessions were missed at Bamford Academy in 2024/25. 19.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Bamford Academy?
Apply through Rochdale's coordinated admissions process, naming Bamford Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Bamford Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Bamford Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Bamford Academy: Moo Holiday Hub (190m away, registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Bamford Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 5 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 5 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Rochdale is 10 (the median across 106 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Bamford Academy?
Bamford Academy is at Belgium Street, Rochdale, Manchester, Lancashire, OL11 5PS.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)