Discovery Academy

Discovery Academy is currently rated as requiring improvement in its overall effectiveness, primarily due to the quality of education. While students enjoy attending this inclusive school and have a sense of safety and support, the curriculum delivery varies, leading to inconsistent pupil engagement and performance. The leadership team, under the new principal, has initiated a rigorous improvement program focused on student achievement and well-being. However, challenges remain, particularly in the effective use of assessment to guide learning and foster student independence.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and supported.
• Strong relationships exist between staff and pupils.
• An ambitious and well-organised curriculum is being implemented.
• Effective reading program encourages pupils to read for enjoyment and learning.
• Attendance improvement strategies are successfully implemented.
• High priority on personal development with engaging extracurricular experiences.
• Collegial leadership approach positively impacts school improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment feedback is not consistently helpful or utilized.
• Some teachers lack confidence in fostering pupil independence.

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 Discovery Academy attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.7% 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, 17.9% of pupils at Discovery 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 Discovery Academy had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.9% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Discovery Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 9 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 Discovery Academy received £9,179 and spent £9,097 for each of its 1,439 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,299,000 (£903 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Alpha Academies Trust, income was £7,964 and spending £7,970 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

Discovery Academy is part of Alpha Academies Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Maple Court Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Eaton Park Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Holden Lane Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• The Excel Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Sneyd Academy Stoke-On-Trent

What is Discovery Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Discovery Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Discovery Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Discovery Academy was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Discovery Academy have?

Discovery Academy has 1,435 pupils on roll.

What age range does Discovery Academy cover?

Discovery Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Discovery Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 33.5, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Discovery Academy?

Discovery Academy is at Discovery Drive, Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST2 0GA.