Sandwell Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Sandwell
Halfords Lane, West Bromwich, B71 4LG
68
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 14/05/2024
Application demand
41%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
93.1%
21.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,463
Capacity used
Over capacity117%
1,250 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
41%
1st preference success rate
161 of 390 families who put it first got an offer
196
Places offered
1106
Total applications
5.6
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 390 | 161 | ● 41% |
| 2nd preference | 287 | 15 | ● 5% |
| 3rd preference | 217 | 13 | ● 6% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 212 | 7 | ● 3% |
| Total | 1106 | 196 | 18% |
1st preference success by year
Sandwell lets families list 6 preferences. 176 applications came from outside the council area (10 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- James Saunders
- Address
- Halfords Lane, West Bromwich, B71 4LG
- Phone
- 01215251700
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Ward / constituency
- St Pauls · Smethwick
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 134993
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 33% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 47% | — | — |
| SEN support | 9% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THOMAS TELFORD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
1,463 pupils · 1,250 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
14 May 2024
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Outstanding Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,040 pupils
Attendance
93.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
21.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
1.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.4%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 47.7 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 48% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 70% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.34 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.81 | — | — |
Average grade: C+ (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 49.1 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 52% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 72.3% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 56.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.44 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 202 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.73 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 14.5% | 17% |
| A-level students | 139 | — |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 17417: Sandwell Academy
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | ≤5 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | 0 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 68% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 2% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 73% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.