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Smestow Academy

Secondary · Wolverhampton · WV3 8HU

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Strong standardPersonal development: Strong standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Strong standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Expected standard

Inspected 11 November 2025 · report published 11 January 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

589 pupils · 58% of 1,010 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
59.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
42.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.smestowacademy.co.uk
URN
149635

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 40 families named it first for 85 Year 7 places, 0.47 first choices per place. We hold one Year 7 admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 11 November 2025, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.47 first-choice applications per place

85 places offered · 40 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

90 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
42.6
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
60%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
31.1%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.8
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C-
26.5
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school42.6
Median of its 12 closest peers44.4
Wolverhampton average45.6
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Wells AcademyNottingham · 52 miles awayExpected standard43.1
Ark Blake AcademyCroydon · 122 miles awayGood45.6
Hillcrest School and Sixth Form CentreBirmingham · 13 miles awayGood52.1
Harris Academy BermondseyLondon · 117 miles awayOutstanding54.6
The Oaks AcademyCrewe · 37 miles awayGood35.4
St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England SchoolLondon · 117 miles awayGood52.7
Thornhill AcademySunderland · 163 miles awayGood41.4
Ark Burlington Danes AcademyLondon · 111 miles awayGood48.1
Thomas More Catholic SchoolPurley · 123 miles awayGood (2019)42.1
Harris Science Academy East LondonLondon · 118 miles awayOutstanding56.9
RhyddingsAccrington · 81 miles awayRequires improvement36.5
The Archbishop Lanfranc AcademyCroydon · 120 miles awayGood39.1

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 22% (Wolverhampton 34%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 18% (Wolverhampton 20%, England 4%) · Black African 9% (Wolverhampton 11%, England 5%) · Any other White background 7% (Wolverhampton 5%, England 7%) · Not recorded 7% (Wolverhampton 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 6% (Wolverhampton 6%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 6% (Wolverhampton 4%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 6% (Wolverhampton 3%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Wolverhampton 2%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Wolverhampton 5%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 3% (Wolverhampton 2%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Wolverhampton 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Wolverhampton 3%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Wolverhampton 1%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Wolverhampton 0%, England 0%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
8.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
27.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

31.52 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Wolverhampton: 11.62 suspensions and 0.27 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
13.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 10% moved to another state school · 3% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

66% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,151; 15.2% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£9,931
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 11% (11%) · educational supplies 9% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,007,000; in-year balance -£36,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
5/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications21.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways21.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.6%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier67.7%62.3%
Social housing17.9%17.1%
Privately rented14.1%20.5%
Detached houses19.4%22.9%
Flats17.4%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms15.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van16.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01010552 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£255,000266 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£202,000–£329,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (86)£363,000
Semi-detached (84)£257,000
Terraced (49)£220,000
Flat (47)£138,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
11an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools