UK Schools
The Valley Leadership Academy
The Valley Leadership Academy is a mixed secondary academy in Bacup, Lancashire County Council, teaching 578 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted graded achievement as Needs attention at its most recent inspection in April 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 32.6 (England 46.1). Its 2025–2026 calendar lists 8 holidays and 5 INSET days.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for The Valley Leadership Academy.
Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for The Valley Leadership Academy.
- 1 Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils)
- 2 Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils)
- 3 School re-opens for all pupils
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holidays
- 3 School re-opens after Autumn Half Term
- 19 Closure after school
- 22–31 Christmas Holidays
- 1–2 Christmas Holidays
- 5 Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils)
- 6 School re-opens for pupils
- 16–20 Spring Half Term Holidays
- 23 School re-opens after Spring Half Term
- 20 Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils)
- 27 Closure after school
- 30–31 Easter Holidays
- 1–10 Easter Holidays
- 13 Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils)
- 14 School re-opens for pupils
- 4 May Day Closure
- 25–29 Summer Half Term Holidays
- 1 School re-opens for pupils
- 16 Closure after school - Start of Summer Holidays
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils) Sep 1, 2025 Inset Day
- Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils) Sep 2, 2025 Inset Day
- School re-opens for all pupils Sep 3, 2025 Event
- Autumn Half Term Holidays Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
- School re-opens after Autumn Half Term Nov 3, 2025 Holiday
- Closure after school Dec 19, 2025 Event
- Christmas Holidays Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils) Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
- School re-opens for pupils Jan 6, 2026 Event
- Spring Half Term Holidays Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
- School re-opens after Spring Half Term Feb 23, 2026 Holiday
- Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils) Mar 20, 2026 Inset Day
- Closure after school Mar 27, 2026 Event
- Easter Holidays Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- Staff INSET Day (School closed for pupils) Apr 13, 2026 Inset Day
- School re-opens for pupils Apr 14, 2026 Event
- May Day Closure May 4, 2026 Event
- Summer Half Term Holidays May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
- School re-opens for pupils Jun 1, 2026 Event
- Closure after school - Start of Summer Holidays Jul 16, 2026 Holiday
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare The Valley Leadership Academy with Lancashire County Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 32.6 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Lancashire County Council England
Attendance 45.1% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Lancashire County Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 78% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Lancashire County Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for The Valley Leadership Academy. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to The Valley Leadership Academy than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.