Burnage Academy for Boys

Burnage Academy for Boys joins prestigious music programme

Burnage Academy for Boys caters for 950 boys in south Manchester, serving some of the most deprived communities in the city. Against a national background of boys’ underachievement, and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on inner-city children, boys at the school are fulfilling their potential and emerging with significantly enhanced life chances thanks to the incredible level of care and investment in the school mission by all connected to the school.

Staff work extremely well together to provide an exceptional learning environment, grounded in detailed knowledge and understanding of the local context. Our school serves an area of extreme socio-economic disadvantage with almost half of our students receiving Pupil Premium funding. We have 44 languages spoken across the school and celebrate our rich cultural diversity.

2023 exam results are amongst the highest in the country and have continued to improve year-on-year. In 2023, Burnage Academy ranked seventh nationally outside London and the south east for the progress of boys, and achievement is exceptional in every area for every cohort.

The school strongly believes that all students should have access to a rich variety of opportunities; through highly effective pastoral and academic support, we ensure that all groups achieve exceptionally well and are fully prepared for the opportunities open to them after leaving.

Music has recently been remodelled, made particularly exciting with the appointment of a music specialist as our new Head of Performing Arts. Pupils explore the social, historical and cultural context of a wide variety of musical genres and have the opportunity to take part in in extra-curricular activities to help understand the significance of music within their own environment, ranging from a school band to music technology. Such is the passion for the subject; we are anticipating a KS4 GCSE class in the near future.

“It is wonderful that MiSST gives opportunities for children to learn an instrument in school. We are absolutely thrilled to be the first school in Manchester to be part of the programme. It is important that all young people have access to a range of activities and find something that they are passionate about, and the programme will greatly help our pupils to do that.We are delighted to be working in partnership with MiSST, as we recognise the amazing opportunity that the programme presents to our pupils. Learning a musical instrument is both challenging and rewarding, and the programme will enhance our school values of resilience and independence. It gives us a new and exciting avenue with which to explore and develop these skills in our students.”