Accrington Academy is a mixed 11-16 Academy in Accrington, Lancashire. It has designated specialisms in Sports and Mathematics. It is situated in the centre of Accrington. Accrington St Christopher's C of E High is nearby to the west.

History

The school, run by United Learning, opened on 1 September 2008 on the site of the former Accrington Moorhead Sports College, itself the successor Moorhead High School which was the successor of the one-time Accrington High School for Girls. All pupils previously at Moorhead automatically transferred to the new school, which has had a sixth form provision from September 2009 up until July 2024.

Former schools

Accrington Grammar School had around 500 boys and 100 in the sixth form in the 1970s. Accrington High School for Girls had around 600 girls. Accrington Moorhead High School was on Cromwell Avenue off Queens Road West. The school was founded in 1895 on Blackburn Rd, Accrington as a 'Technical School' In 1968, it moved to the Moorhead site. In 1975, following the Labour government's educational reforms, it ceased to exist. In 2008, Nosheen Iqbal wrote in The Guardian that Moorhead High School had been "failing". Her article described a "startling transformation" from 17% of children achieving 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C, to 78% of children doing so in the new school. The school's headteacher believed that the change had been brought about through the Creative Partnerships approach, an Arts Council England programme.

Notable former pupils

Accrington Moorhead Sports College

Dominic Brunt, actor, known for his part in Emmerdale as Paddy Kirk.

Accrington Grammar School

Accrington High School for Girls