Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy continues to perform well as a good school, maintaining high ambitions for its students. The interim principal, Adrian Price, has led changes to the school's leadership and staffing, which have positively impacted the curriculum. Pupils express happiness and a sense of safety within the school, and there is substantial support from parents about the recent improvements. The focus on personal development is commendable, with active student participation in leadership roles and extracurricular activities enhancing the school environment.

Strengths

• High ambitions shared by staff and pupils.
• Strong emphasis on personal development and extracurricular activities.
• Well-sequenced and ambitious curriculum accessible to all pupils.
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND.
• Competent and knowledgeable teaching staff.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent pupil behavior during structured lesson times affecting others' learning.
• Some teachers need to improve assessment practices to identify learning gaps.
• Ineffective strategies in place for supporting weaker readers.

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 Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.7% 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, 9.6% of pupils at Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% 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, 13.3% of pupils at Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.1% 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 Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy received £8,221 and spent £7,882 for each of its 1,168 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £882,000 (£755 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Ormiston Academies Trust, income was £8,888 and spending £8,698 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 Oldbury · Sandwell local authority: places and applications

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• George Salter Academy West Bromwich
• Ormiston Forge Academy Cradley Heath
• Wodensborough Ormiston Academy Wednesbury
• Ormiston SWB Academy Bilston
• Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Walsall
• Ormiston NEW Academy Wolverhampton
• Brownhills Ormiston Academy Walsall
• Tenbury High Ormiston Academy Tenbury Wells
• Ormiston Meridian Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-On-Trent

What is Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy have?

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy has 1,139 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy cover?

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.7, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy?

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy is at Lower City Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 2HE.