The Lowry Academy

The Lowry Academy (formerly known as Harrop Fold School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Salford, Greater Manchester, England,^[2] which serves pupils from Little Hulton and Walkden. The school came to prominence from being featured in the Educating... TV series.

The Lowry Academy
Address
Hilton Lane Little Hulton City of Salford , Greater Manchester , M28 0SY England
Coordinates	53.5221°N 2.41048°W / 53.5221; -2.41048
Information
Type	Academy
Established	1 September 2001 (2001-09-01)[1]
Local authority	Salford City Council
Trust	United Learning
Department for Education URN	148393 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Principal	Claire Coy
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 16
Website	https://www.lowryacademy.org.uk/

The school is named after the noted Salford artist, L.S. Lowry.^[3]

History

The school was formed in 2001 from the merger of Joseph Eastham High School in Salford and Little Hulton Community School in Little Hulton. Originally on both former schools' sites, a new building was subsequently constructed on the playing fields of Joseph Eastham High School and the old building demolished in 2008.

The school has a very high proportion of pupils who are economically disadvantaged.^[4]

In 2003, Ofsted inspectors told the governing body that Harrop Fold was the "worst school in the country".^[5]

In 2005, the school had improved and 94% of teaching was judged satisfactory or better.^[6][7]

In 2010 and again in 2013 the school was judged Good.^[8][9]

In 2018 the headteacher, Drew Povey, was first suspended and then resigned.^[10] This was linked to allegations that the school had wrongly recorded information, possibly in order to make results appear better than they were ("off-rolling").^[11] He had served as headteacher since February 2010.^[12] Later in the year the school was judged Inadequate and placed back into Special Measures.^[4] In 2024, Povey faced a professional conduct panel in relation to the allegations relating to off-rolling and record keeping, and was subsequently banned from teaching in England after being found to have committed unacceptable professional conduct.^[13]

Previously a community school administered by Salford City Council, in March 2021 Harrop Fold School converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by United Learning.^[14] In September 2021 the school completed its transformation and was renamed The Lowry Academy, after the Salford-born artist, L.S. Lowry,^[3] with a new uniform^[15] and logo.^[16]

Starting in 2025, each September will include a grammar stream for a cohort of around 28-32 students from Year 7 onwards alongside the comprehensive nature of the school.^[17]

Television coverage

The school featured in Educating Greater Manchester on Channel 4.^[18]