Ormiston Horizon Academy

Ormiston Horizon Academy is performing well overall, rated as good across all domains of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. The school has seen significant improvements since its last inspection, with high expectations established for both pupil behaviour and academic achievement. Pupils enjoy a positive and inclusive environment where they feel supported as individuals, contributing to well-managed relationships and a culture of respect, resilience, and responsibility. However, while the curriculum is ambitious and aligned with national standards, there are concerns regarding the depth of understanding among pupils as not all teachers are consistently challenging them to engage fully with the material.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupil behaviour and learning.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff.
• Strong support for pupils' personal development and well-being.
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND.
• Encouragement of pupil involvement in community activities.
• Well-planned personal, social, health and economic education.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding.
• Missed opportunities for deeper learning experiences.
• Higher-than-expected pupil absence affecting learning progress.

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 Horizon Academy attended 88.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.1% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Ormiston Horizon Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Horizon Academy had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.6% 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, 21.6% of pupils at Ormiston Horizon Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.1% 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 Horizon Academy received £8,476 and spent £8,167 for each of its 1,036 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £783,000 (£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 Stoke-On-Trent · Stoke-on-Trent local authority: places and applications

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

• Packmoor Ormiston Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Meridian Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Runcorn
• Sandymoor Ormiston Academy Runcorn
• Brownhills Ormiston Academy Walsall
• Ormiston NEW Academy Wolverhampton
• Ormiston Chadwick Academy Widnes
• Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Walsall
• Ormiston SWB Academy Bilston

What is Ormiston Horizon Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ormiston Horizon Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Ormiston Horizon Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston Horizon Academy was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Ormiston Horizon Academy have?

Ormiston Horizon Academy has 1,029 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston Horizon Academy cover?

Ormiston Horizon Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ormiston Horizon Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.5, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston Horizon Academy?

Ormiston Horizon Academy is at Turnhurst Road, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 6JZ.