Walsall Studio School

Walsall Studio School is a good school where pupils are valued and included, relationships are warm and respectful, and most pupils work hard and achieve well, including pupils with SEND. Inspectors found a purposeful atmosphere, sensible behaviour, effective safeguarding and strong personal development, with pupils benefiting from leadership opportunities, enrichment and a broad curriculum that includes vocational courses. The sixth form is a particular strength: students engage in ambitious, independent learning, achieve well in vocational subjects and move on to a wide range of high-quality destinations. The school has had significant leadership and staffing change since its last inspection, including a new headteacher in January 2025, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders, governors and the Mercian Trust understand the local context and have taken effective action to review the curriculum and improve teaching, and staff value the training and attention to workload. However, improvement is not yet consistent in some subjects by the end of key stage 4. Key concerns are that teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding carefully enough, leaving some pupils with gaps in knowledge; support for pupils who struggle with reading and opportunities to promote wider reading are not fully developed; and too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, miss school too often, which holds back their progress. The school should continue its work on assessment, reading and attendance.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming culture where pupils feel valued and safe
• Warm, respectful relationships between pupils and staff
• Most pupils work hard and achieve well, including pupils with SEND
• Purposeful atmosphere with good behaviour in lessons and unstructured time
• Strong personal development, including mental health and well-being support
• Leadership and enrichment opportunities that build responsibility and enhance learning
• Broad curriculum with high-quality vocational courses
• Sixth-form students engage in ambitious, challenging and independent learning
• Sixth-form students achieve well and move to a wide range of high-quality destinations
• Teachers generally present new content clearly, especially in key stage 5
• SEND needs are identified quickly and learning is adapted precisely
• Well-planned PSHE and comprehensive careers programme
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders, governors and trust understand the local context and review key aspects effectively
• Staff benefit from well-thought-out training and consideration of workload

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teachers do not check pupils’ understanding carefully enough, so gaps in knowledge are not addressed well
• Outcomes in some subjects are not yet consistently improving by the end of key stage 4
• Support for pupils who struggle to read is not as effective as it could be
• Opportunities to promote regular wider reading are not fully developed
• Too many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, miss too much school
• Attendance issues prevent a significant number of pupils from achieving their full potential

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 Walsall Studio School attended 81.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 54.0% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Walsall Studio School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Walsall Studio School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 50.4% 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, 21.4% of pupils at Walsall Studio School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% 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 Walsall Studio School received £9,178 and spent £12,088 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £356,000 (-£1,924 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Mercian Trust, income was £8,095 and spending £8,003 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 Walsall · Walsall local authority: places and applications

Walsall Studio School is part of The Mercian Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Queen Mary's High School Walsall
• Queen Mary's Grammar School Walsall
• Rushall Primary School Walsall
• Q3 Academy Great Barr Birmingham
• Aldridge School - A Science College Walsall
• Oakwood School Walsall
• Shire Oak Academy Walsall
• Q3 Academy Tipton Tipton
• Q3 Academy Langley Oldbury

What is Walsall Studio School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Walsall Studio School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Walsall Studio School last inspected by Ofsted?

Walsall Studio School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Walsall Studio School have?

Walsall Studio School has 206 pupils on roll.

What age range does Walsall Studio School cover?

Walsall Studio School for pupils aged 14 to 19.

Where is Walsall Studio School?

Walsall Studio School is at 14a Lower Hall Lane, The Goldmine Centre, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 1RL.