Westwood College

Westwood College is currently rated as requiring improvement across several key areas, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. While the school has high aspirations for its students and a strong emphasis on personal development, these ambitions have not yet translated into consistently improving outcomes, particularly by the end of key stage 4. The school does exhibit a purposeful atmosphere with warm relationships and a diversity of extracurricular activities that contribute positively to students' experience.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe with warm and respectful relationships.
• Diverse extracurricular programs including sports, arts, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
• Strong emphasis on personal development with effective PSHE curriculum.
• Engaging comprehensive careers program for all pupils.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements are in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent checking of pupils' understanding leads to gaps in knowledge.
• High absence rates limit some pupils' progress and achievement.
• Some pupils with SEND do not receive sufficient support.
• Lack of precise evaluation of improvement actions impacts understanding of their effectiveness.

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 Westwood College attended 89.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.0% 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, 6.4% of pupils at Westwood College 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 Westwood College had 17.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Westwood College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 Westwood College received £7,203 and spent £7,103 for each of its 771 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £438,000 (£569 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of The Talentum Learning Trust, income was £7,413 and spending £7,300 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 Leek · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Westwood College is part of The Talentum Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Westwood First School Leek
• All Saints CofE First School Leek
• Leek First School Select
• Churnet View Middle School Leek
• Leek High School Leek
• Beresford Memorial CofE First School Leek
• Blackshaw Moor CofE First School Leek
• Rushton CofE First School Macclesfield

What is Westwood College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Westwood College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Westwood College last inspected by Ofsted?

Westwood College was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Westwood College have?

Westwood College has 735 pupils on roll.

What age range does Westwood College cover?

Westwood College for pupils aged 13 to 18.

Where is Westwood College?

Westwood College is at Westwood Park, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 8NP.