Lift Unity City

Lift Unity City is a large secondary school in Middlesbrough serving a highly deprived community, with a well-above-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. It is part of the Lift Schools Academy Trust and includes a specially resourced provision for 30 pupils with moderate learning difficulties, plus on-site and external alternative provision. Inspectors found that safeguarding standards are met and that the school is generally performing at the expected standard in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. A relatively new leadership team has brought stability and purpose after a period of instability and substantial staff change, and there are clear signs of improvement in behaviour, attendance and community confidence. The school's notable strengths include an inclusive, caring ethos; strong pastoral and mental health support; close attention to vulnerable pupils; and a responsive personal development programme that builds life skills and careers readiness. Attendance has improved for three successive years, behaviour in lessons is generally positive, and incidents of bullying and racist language are declining. Leaders have improved the curriculum and teaching, with reading and handwriting support helping pupils access learning, and more pupils are progressing to education, employment or training. However, achievement over time has been weak, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and outcomes remain well below national averages. Curriculum and teaching improvements are not yet consistently embedded, and assessment in some subjects does not check pupils' understanding well enough to adapt teaching. Attendance and persistent absence are still much higher than national averages, and some pupils and parents have concerns about behaviour at social times and transitions, stairway congestion, bullying, communication and SEND support. The next steps rightly focus on strengthening foundational knowledge, improving assessment, and further embedding behaviour strategies.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Leadership has brought stability and improvement after a period of instability.
• Staff care for pupils and build respectful relationships.
• Attendance has improved for three successive years, including for vulnerable pupils.
• Behaviour in lessons is positive with little low-level disruption.
• Incidents of bullying and racist language are declining.
• An inclusive ethos supports the most vulnerable pupils, including young carers.
• The school-run mental health service provides timely support.
• Pupils with SEND receive purposeful support in the resourced provision.
• Pupil premium funding is improving behaviour and attendance for disadvantaged pupils.
• The personal development programme is responsive, with 'adulting for beginners' as a strength.
• Careers education is prioritised through a three-phase model.
• Pupils access a wide range of clubs and enrichment activities.
• Trust and academy council arrangements provide challenge and local input.
• Curriculum and teaching improvements are beginning to improve pupils' progress.
• Reading and handwriting support help pupils access the curriculum.
• More pupils are progressing to employment, education or training.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement over time has not been good enough, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• GCSE outcomes, Attainment 8 and Progress 8 remain below national averages.
• Significant gaps in pupils' basic knowledge are not sufficiently addressed.
• Curriculum and teaching improvements are not embedded consistently across subjects.
• Assessment checks in some subjects do not reveal how deeply pupils understand.
• Teachers do not always adapt teaching well enough to meet all pupils' needs.
• Attendance and persistent absence remain well above national averages.
• Behaviour at social times and transitions can be boisterous.
• Some pupils worry about congestion on stairways.
• Some pupils and parents have concerns about bullying and behaviour.
• A minority of parents are unhappy with communication and SEND support.
• Literacy and numeracy support is not consistently embedded, and gaps remain.
• Some pupils' understanding of British values and protected characteristics is inconsistent.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Lift Unity City attended 86.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 42.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 13.4% of pupils at Lift Unity City were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 11 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Lift Unity City had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.7% of pupils at Lift Unity City were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 28 pupils.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Lift Unity City received £10,637 and spent £9,894 for each of its 1,029 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £826,000 (£803 per pupil).

Across all 59 schools of Lift Schools, income was £8,746 and spending £8,644 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Middlesbrough · Middlesbrough local authority: places and applications

Lift Unity City is part of Lift Schools, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Lift Caldicotes Middlesbrough
• Lift North Ormesby Middlesbrough
• Lift Cottingley Leeds
• Lift Feversham Bradford
• Lift Kingswood Hull
• Lift Green Way Hull
• Lift Hall Road Hull
• Lift Newington Hull
• Lift Meadstead Barnsley
• Lift Shafton Barnsley

What is Lift Unity City's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lift Unity City is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Lift Unity City last inspected by Ofsted?

Lift Unity City was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Lift Unity City have?

Lift Unity City has 1,033 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lift Unity City cover?

Lift Unity City for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Lift Unity City's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.9, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lift Unity City?

Lift Unity City is at Ormesby Road, Middlesbrough, TS3 8RE.