Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy, Runcorn

Ofsted's report card from its 13 January 2026 inspection grades Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy on 7 areas: 3 expected standard and 4 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders promote an effective inclusive culture and hold high expectations for all pupils."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders and those responsible for governance make decisions that are consistently focused on pupils' best interests, particularly those who are disadvantaged, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are known or previously known to children's social care."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Pupils' personal development and wellbeing are rooted in the school's ethos and values, which promote inclusion, respect and belonging."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Overall, pupils' achievement is inconsistent."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Attendance remains a key area for improvement."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Teachers' checks are not used consistently well to gauge pupils' understanding during lessons."

Post 16 provision - Needs attention. "Historically, students in the sixth form have not achieved as well as they should, and outcomes in national examinations have been weak."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that pupils secure the knowledge and skills they need at each stage of learning, so that they make consistent progress from their starting points across subjects and are well prepared for their next steps"; "Leaders should ensure that teaching enables pupils to build knowledge cumulatively over time by strengthening the consistent use of formative assessment, so that pupils' learning is checked and teaching is routinely adapted"; "Leaders should accelerate improvement in attendance by further strengthening work with families and external partners, so that overall attendance rises and persistent absence reduces, particularly for those pupils who experience ongoing barriers to regular attendance"; "Leaders should improve the consistency and quality of post-16 teaching so that students make stronger progress from their starting points and improvements in students' work lead to improved examination outcomes".

In its own words: "Our vision at OBA is for every child to dare to shine . To be able to do this they need to have the courage to dare, to act boldly, to venture forwards and to take risks in their pursuit to shine. To dare to shine our children need courage and choices . These form the basis of our vision."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy. I am delighted to introduce myself as the principal at this true community school. We are proud of our place in the community and will always seek to serve it as best we can."

In 2026, pupils at Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 40.1 in Halton and 47 across England.

31% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 34% in Halton and 47% in England.

That is up from 35.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.66: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 32.4, against 43.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 25 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Biology.

For September 2026 entry, 93 families put Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy as their first choice and 162 named it as one of their preferences, for 96 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy are Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy (1.7 miles, Attainment 8 37.5); Sandymoor Ormiston Academy (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.2); The Grange School (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 36); and The Heath School (2.3 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 41).

Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy is one of 44 schools run by Ormiston Academies Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 41 in 2024/25.

156 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy (as of April 2026): 88% would recommend the school, 81% say their child is happy there and 71% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (71%).

Of the 185 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 87% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 51% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 84 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 32% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 32% into work.

60.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 1.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 155 pupils (20.6%) received SEN support and 21 (2.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy had 60 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Runcorn East Rail Station, about 980 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy, 50 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 82 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Halton (166).

In 2024/25, Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy issued 252 suspensions, 30.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 10 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy are Murdishaw West Primary and Nursery School (0.3 miles), Brookvale Primary School (0.4 miles), Gorsewood Primary School (0.5 miles) and St Martin's Catholic Primary School and Preschool (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.