[1] Since opening, Furness Academy has gained a somewhat tarnished reputation from having the highest exclusion rate in England (between 2009 and 2010),[2] and a number of Ofsted reports that judged it as inadequate.

Furness Academy was formed after a public consultation by Cumbria County Council following concerns over the falling number of pupils, educational standards and performance and out-of-date school facilities in the town.

Despite numerous protests by students and concerned parents alike and a 6,000 signature petition presented to Cumbria County Council, the academy was given the go-ahead in 2009 and hundreds of Alfred Barrow students were uprooted and moved to the Furness Academy North Site (Formerly Thorncliffe) or South Site (Formerly Parkview)[6] Furness Academy's eight departments include: English and Literacy, Maths and Numeracy, Physical Education and Sport Science, Technology, Personal and Social Development, Modern Foreign Languages, Humanities and Religious and Moral Education.

[8] One predecessor of Parkview Community College of Technology; Risedale School has been completely demolished and an Aldi supermarket now stands on the site.

Since 2009 Furness Academy occupied the former buildings of Thorncliffe and Parkview Schools which were named the North and South Site respectively.

Construction commenced in March 2012[10] after a series of delays, the most notable being the rejected application to protect land and classify the academy's playing fields as a 'Town and Village Green'.

[2] Over the same time period only 33% of year 11 pupils managed to pass five GCSEs including Maths and English, considerably fewer than the national average of 46% and lower still than the troubled Alfred Barrow and Thorncliffe Schools that Furness Academy replaced.

[3] An injunction by Furness Academy to prevent the publication of Ofsted's report which labelled its effectiveness as 'inadequate' was rejected by the High Court.

The 2013 Ofsted report into Furness Academy also deemed it as inadequate and requiring special measures, with principal Douglas Blackledge ultimately being suspended pending an investigation.