Oldbury Academy

Oldbury Academy is a large secondary school within Stour Vale Academy Trust, with a new headteacher and several new leaders in post since the last inspection. The inspection found that safeguarding standards are met and that the school is performing at the expected standard in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Achievement and curriculum and teaching, however, need attention. The school has notable strengths: pupils are happy, feel safe and benefit from warm relationships and an orderly environment. Attendance has improved significantly, including for pupils with SEND, and inclusion work is strong for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and those at the early stages of learning English. Leaders are committed, staff are positive about the new vision, and personal development and careers provision are broad and well received. The main concerns are variability in teaching quality and persistent gaps in some pupils' foundational knowledge, particularly spelling, handwriting, language and communication. Some teachers do not consistently use information about pupils to remove barriers to learning, and checking for understanding can be imprecise. As a result, achievement across the curriculum is uneven, too much work is poor or incomplete, and most-able pupils have not achieved as well as they could. Leaders are taking appropriate steps, but their work on vocabulary, spelling and grammar is not yet fully embedded.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils feeling safe.
• Pupils enjoy warm and respectful relationships with adults and each other.
• Attendance has improved significantly, including for pupils with SEND, through leaders' actions.
• Pupils behave well, understand leaders' expectations and the school is an orderly and safe community.
• Inclusion is strong: leaders assess needs and support pupils with SEND, early English learners and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders and staff are deeply committed to pupils and the wider community.
• Staff are galvanised around the new headteacher's vision and value support for their workload and wellbeing.
• Governors and trustees know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Personal development provision is comprehensive, including diversity, health, safety and careers education.
• There is an impressive wider experiences offer, including many clubs, musicals and the school newspaper.
• Careers provision is comprehensive and supports pupils to access ambitious destinations and work experience.
• Pupils typically achieve well in external examinations at the end of Year 11, despite variability.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention due to significant gaps in some pupils' spelling, handwriting, language and communication skills.
• Teaching quality is too variable across the school.
• Checking for understanding can be imprecise, meaning gaps in pupils' learning persist.
• Some teachers do not use information about pupils to minimise barriers for pupils with SEND, early English learners or low literacy levels.
• Leaders have not yet embedded an agreed whole-school approach to spelling and grammar.
• Pupils' achievement across the curriculum is variable, and too much work is of poor quality or incomplete.
• Handwriting can often be illegible, especially for boys.
• Most-able pupils have not achieved as well as they could in recent external examinations.
• Pupils' foundational knowledge and communication skills are not consistently developed across the school.
• Recent work on vocabulary development is not yet fully embedded.
• Outcomes in English and maths GCSE and Attainment 8 are below national averages.
• Destinations after 16 are below national averages.

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 Oldbury Academy attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.4% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Oldbury Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Oldbury Academy had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Oldbury Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 Oldbury Academy received £8,945 and spent £8,313 for each of its 1,353 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £3,218,000 (£2,378 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Stour Vale Academy Trust, income was £7,406 and spending £7,402 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

Oldbury Academy is part of Stour Vale Academy Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Moat Farm Junior School Oldbury
• Moat Farm Infant School Oldbury
• Olive Hill Primary Academy Halesowen
• The Earls High School Halesowen
• Newtown Primary School West Bromwich
• Northfield Road Primary School Dudley
• Huntingtree Primary School Halesowen
• Redhill School Stourbridge
• The Wordsley School Stourbridge
• Holywell Primary and Nursery School Birmingham

What is Oldbury Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oldbury Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Oldbury Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Oldbury Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Oldbury Academy have?

Oldbury Academy has 1,193 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oldbury Academy cover?

Oldbury Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Oldbury Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.5, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Oldbury Academy?

Oldbury Academy is at Pound Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B68 8NE.