Ormiston Meridian Academy

Ormiston Meridian Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in a relatively deprived area, with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and above-average numbers of pupils with SEN support. It is part of Ormiston Academies Trust and has resourced SEND provision. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors judged personal development to be strong, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance were all at the expected standard. Overall, the school is performing at the expected standard, with a particularly strong personal development offer. The school's strengths include an ambitious and well-matched personal development programme, a wide range of extra-curricular activities, strong pupil leadership, robust careers education, and effective pastoral support. Pupils feel safe, valued and respected, attendance is close to national averages and above national averages over time for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and behaviour is typically calm and respectful. Leaders and governors are ambitious, supportive and well informed, and staff feel well supported. Areas for further work are identified in the report. Teaching is not yet consistently delivered across all subject areas, with occasional variation in how well teachers address misconceptions and secure long-term knowledge. Behaviour requires continued improvement for all pupils, particularly pupils with barriers, so that they consistently meet leaders' high expectations. In addition, external examination outcomes in English and maths, Attainment 8 and post-16 destinations have been below national averages in some recent years, although leaders have strategies in place to address this.

Strengths

• Personal development provision is ambitious, well matched to the school's context and accessible to all pupils.
• A wide range of extra-curricular activities, trips and an entitlement pledge broaden pupils' experiences.
• Pupil leadership is advanced and inclusive, giving pupils meaningful opportunities to contribute.
• Careers provision is robust and prepares pupils well for life after school.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and a strong sense of belonging; bullying is not tolerated.
• Attendance is close to national averages and above national for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND over time.
• Behaviour is typically calm and respectful, with high expectations and reducing suspensions.
• The curriculum is broad, sequenced and ambitious, and teachers have strong subject knowledge.
• Support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils is effective, including through achiever plans and the inclusion team.
• Leadership and governance are ambitious, well informed and focused on improvement.
• Staff, including early careers teachers, are well supported, and staff wellbeing is prioritised.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which concerns are actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not yet delivered consistently across all subject areas to improve outcomes.
• Behaviour requires continued improvement for all pupils, particularly pupils with barriers, so they meet leaders' high expectations.
• There is occasional variation in how well teachers address misconceptions and secure long-term knowledge.
• External examination outcomes in English and maths, Attainment 8 and post-16 destinations have been below national averages in some recent years.

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 Meridian Academy attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.0% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Ormiston Meridian 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 Ormiston Meridian Academy had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.6% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Ormiston Meridian Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% 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 Meridian Academy received £9,061 and spent £8,818 for each of its 1,049 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £792,000 (£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 Meridian Academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Horizon Academy Stoke On Trent
• Packmoor Ormiston Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Brownhills Ormiston Academy Walsall
• Ormiston NEW Academy Wolverhampton
• Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Walsall
• Ormiston SWB Academy Bilston
• Wodensborough Ormiston Academy Wednesbury
• George Salter Academy West Bromwich
• Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy Oldbury

What is Ormiston Meridian Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ormiston Meridian Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Ormiston Meridian Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston Meridian Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Ormiston Meridian Academy have?

Ormiston Meridian Academy has 1,015 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston Meridian Academy cover?

Ormiston Meridian Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Ormiston Meridian Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.6, and 30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston Meridian Academy?

Ormiston Meridian Academy is at Sandon Road, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST3 7DF.