Wreake Valley Academy

Wreake Valley Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school with a sixth form in Leicestershire, part of the Bradgate Education Partnership. It has a relatively new leadership team, with the headteacher appointed in September 2024, and includes the BINC specially resourced provision for 45 pupils with communication and interaction needs. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school is overall judged to need attention, with leaders having acted quickly and impactfully to improve curriculum, attendance and behaviour, but with further work still required. The school's strengths include strong inclusion and pastoral care, effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, a broad and ambitious curriculum, and a wide range of enrichment and careers opportunities. Pupils feel safe, typically behave well in classrooms, and benefit from a positive culture underpinned by 'The Wreake Way'. Leaders, trustees and staff are well regarded, and staff value high-quality professional learning. Attendance is beginning to improve. However, pupils have not achieved as well as they might over time, particularly in achieving a strong set of qualifications at key stage 4 and in A-level outcomes in the sixth form. Attendance remains below national average, persistent absence is high, and teaching quality is variable, with inconsistent checking of understanding, feedback and application of agreed strategies. A minority of pupils show poor behaviour and lateness around school, and staff do not always challenge this consistently. Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment gaps remain large. Leaders recognise these issues and have clear next steps to improve teaching, attendance and behaviour expectations.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture.
• Leaders quickly identify pupils needing extra support and share SEND information effectively.
• The BINC specially resourced provision helps pupils with SEND thrive.
• Inclusive practice ensures disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils access the same opportunities.
• Pastoral care is excellent and supports pupils' wellbeing well.
• The personal development programme, underpinned by 'The Wreake Way', promotes respect, resilience and readiness.
• Careers education is well designed, with personalised advice and employer encounters.
• A wide range of extra-curricular activities, trips and enrichment is available to all pupils.
• Leaders have acted decisively to improve curriculum, attendance and behaviour.
• Trustees and trust leaders provide effective support and challenge.
• Staff are happy, proud and benefit from high-quality professional learning.
• Pupils typically behave well in classrooms and bullying is rare.
• Attendance is beginning to improve, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• The sixth-form enrichment programme is extensive and inclusive.
• The curriculum provides opportunities to revisit prior learning and strengthen basic skills.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have not achieved as well as they might in national examinations over time.
• Too few pupils achieve a strong set of qualifications at key stage 4, limiting next-step opportunities.
• Sixth-form A-level attainment and progress are below national averages.
• Attendance rates are lower than national and persistent absence is higher than average.
• Teaching quality is variable; teachers do not consistently check understanding or give useful feedback.
• Agreed teaching strategies to overcome barriers are not consistently applied.
• A minority of pupils show poor behaviour and lateness around school, causing disruption.
• Staff do not consistently challenge poor behaviour, especially during unstructured times.
• The delivery of the curriculum needs to improve so pupils gain and remember knowledge securely.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment gaps remain large.
• Published outcomes do not yet reflect improvements in sixth-form progress.
• Leaders recognise more work is needed to embed recent improvements.

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 Wreake Valley Academy attended 88.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.8% 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, 8.4% of pupils at Wreake Valley 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 Wreake Valley Academy had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.2% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Wreake Valley Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 30 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 Wreake Valley Academy received £8,102 and spent £8,480 for each of its 1,126 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £730,000 (£649 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Bradgate Education Partnership, income was £7,352 and spending £7,630 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 Leicester · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

Wreake Valley Academy is part of Bradgate Education Partnership, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• The Merton Primary School Leicester
• Broomfield Community Primary School Leicester
• The Roundhill Academy Leicester
• The Pochin School Leicester
• Eastfield Primary School Leicester
• Church Hill Infant School Leicester
• Highgate Primary School Loughborough
• Seagrave Village Primary School Loughborough
• Gaddesby Primary School Leicester
• Outwoods Edge Primary School Loughborough

What is Wreake Valley Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wreake Valley Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Wreake Valley Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Wreake Valley Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Wreake Valley Academy have?

Wreake Valley Academy has 1,148 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wreake Valley Academy cover?

Wreake Valley Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Wreake Valley Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.1, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Wreake Valley Academy?

Wreake Valley Academy is at Parkstone Road, Syston, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE7 1LY.