Gospel Oak School

Gospel Oak School has improved markedly since its previous inadequate judgment and is now a calm, safe school where pupils behave well, attendance is strong and relationships between staff and pupils are warm. Leaders, the trust and governors have raised expectations, designed an ambitious curriculum and created a much more positive school culture; pupils recognise and take pride in the changes. Personal development, enrichment, careers education and sixth-form provision are notable strengths, and safeguarding is effective. However, the quality of education still requires improvement. Recent key stage 4 outcomes have been weak because of earlier staffing disruption and poor behaviour, and although pupils are now achieving more, teaching is not consistently adapted to pupils’ knowledge gaps. Teachers do not always check understanding before moving on, and some pupils with SEND do not receive the specific support they need. Reading support has recently been introduced and is beginning to help pupils who have fallen behind. The school is part of the Central Region Schools Trust and has been subject to repeated monitoring since 2022. Governance is strong and well informed, and leaders are now in a position to address the remaining inconsistencies in teaching and SEND practice so that all pupils achieve as well as they should.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and the school is calm, safe and orderly.
• Staff-pupil relationships are warm and pupils feel safe.
• Attendance is strong and pupils take pride in the school’s improvement.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well designed to build knowledge over time.
• Sixth-form students achieve well in a studious environment.
• Personal development helps pupils understand safety, health, society and culture.
• Enrichment activities are impressive, inclusive and well attended, including by pupils with SEND.
• Careers education is locally relevant, personalised and leads to positive destinations.
• Governance has detailed knowledge and the skills to support rapid improvement.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• SEND identification has improved and staff use general strategies to meet needs.
• Reading has a higher profile and a new phonics programme is helping pupils catch up.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not consistently adapted to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding before moving to new content.
• Some teachers do not meet the specific learning needs of individual pupils with SEND.
• Recent key stage 4 published outcomes are weak because of legacy staffing disruption and poor behaviour.
• Reading support is recent and some pupils are still catching up.
• The quality of education is not yet consistently strong across the school.

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 Gospel Oak School attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.6% 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, 7.4% of pupils at Gospel Oak School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Gospel Oak School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.3% 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, 13.8% of pupils at Gospel Oak School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 Gospel Oak School received £8,723 and spent £8,514 for each of its 1,215 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £310,000 (£255 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Central Region Schools Trust, income was £7,890 and spending £7,931 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 Tipton · Sandwell local authority: places and applications

Gospel Oak School is part of Central Region Schools Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Holyhead School Birmingham
• Waseley Hills High School Birmingham
• Sutton Park Primary School Kidderminster
• St Stephen's CofE First School Redditch
• Abbeywood First School Redditch
• Church Hill Middle School Redditch
• Lickhill Primary School Stourport-On-Severn
• Arrow Valley First School Redditch
• Oak Hill First School Redditch
• Ipsley CofE Middle School Redditch

What is Gospel Oak School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gospel Oak School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2025.

When was Gospel Oak School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gospel Oak School was last inspected in October 2025.

How many pupils does Gospel Oak School have?

Gospel Oak School has 1,140 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gospel Oak School cover?

Gospel Oak School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Gospel Oak School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.2, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Gospel Oak School?

Gospel Oak School is at Bilston Road, Gospel Oak, Tipton, West Midlands, DY4 0BZ.