Birches Head Academy
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Stoke-on-Trent
Birches Head Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST2 8DD
43
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Inadequate
Graded 03/10/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
88.2%
36.2% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
925
Capacity used
Has space89%
1,040 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
86 of 86 families who put it first got an offer
189
Places offered
215
Total applications
1.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 86 | 86 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 58 | 13 | ● 22% |
| 3rd preference | 36 | 5 | ● 14% |
| Later preferences (4th–5th) | 35 | 4 | ● 11% |
| Total | 215 | 108 | 50% |
1st preference success by year
Stoke-on-Trent lets families list 5 preferences. 3 applications came from outside the council area (1 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 converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Louise Toach
- Address
- Birches Head Road, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST2 8DD
- Phone
- 01782233595
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Ward / constituency
- Birches Head & Northwood · Stoke-on-Trent Central
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 148220
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 41% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 26% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: FRANK FIELD EDUCATION TRUST
925 pupils · 1,040 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 26
23 June 2026
S5 Inspection · report card
Inclusion Needs attention Achievement Needs attention Safeguarding standards Met Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Attendance and behaviour Needs attention Leadership and governance Needs attention Early years Not applicable Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention Post-16 provision Not applicable - 23
03 October 2023
Full graded inspection
Inadequate overall effectivenessPersonal development Requires improvement Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Leadership and management Requires improvement
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,048 pupils
Attendance
88.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
11.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
36.2%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
7.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
5.0%
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 | 30.2 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.95 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 16% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 32% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 2.54 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 31.3 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 17.1% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 39.2% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 25.6% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.62 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 199 | — |
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.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 199 | 5% | 20% | 43% | |
| English Language | 199 | 10% | 35% | 51% | |
| English Literature | 198 | 11% | 34% | 45% | |
| Combined Science | 162 | 2% | 17% | 31% | |
| Art and Design | 130 | 0% | 14% | 37% | |
| Spanish | 69 | 9% | 20% | 39% | |
| History | 56 | 13% | 29% | 43% | |
| Geography | 51 | 18% | 55% | 69% | |
| Religious Studies | 22 | 14% | 45% | 59% | |
| Biology | 18 | 28% | 78% | 94% | |
| Physics | 17 | 18% | 71% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 17 | 24% | 65% | 100% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Stoke-on-Trent council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
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.