St James Academy

St James Academy has made significant strides in improving its overall effectiveness since its last inspection, where it was deemed to require improvement. The school is now rated as good across all domains, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. It provides a welcoming and inclusive environment where pupils are well-prepared for their future, particularly through a strong careers programme. However, despite these strengths, there remains work to be done to enhance attendance and student engagement in extracurricular activities.

Strengths

• Strong careers programme preparing pupils for life after Year 11.
• Inclusive and welcoming environment fostering good manners and respect.
• Effective strategies for promoting a love of reading.
• Teachers adapt lessons to help pupils remember previous learning.
• High expectations of pupil behaviour resulting in calm and orderly classrooms.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not attend school regularly, creating gaps in learning.
• Occasional low-level disruption due to tasks not being well-adapted to pupils' needs.
• Limited pupil engagement in extracurricular activities.

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 St James Academy attended 88.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.2% 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, 10.8% of pupils at St James Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 St James Academy had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.1% 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, 12.7% of pupils at St James Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.5% 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 St James Academy received £9,442 and spent £8,420 for each of its 863 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £417,000 (£483 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Dudley Academies Trust, income was £8,942 and spending £8,862 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 Dudley · Dudley local authority: places and applications

St James Academy is part of Dudley Academies Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Blowers Green Primary School Dudley
• Pegasus Academy Dudley
• Kates Hill Primary School Dudley
• The Link Academy Dudley
• Beacon Hill Academy Dudley
• The Old Park School Brierley Hill
• Greenfield Primary School Stourbridge

What is St James Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was St James Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St James Academy was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does St James Academy have?

St James Academy has 867 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James Academy cover?

St James Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St James Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.6, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St James Academy?

St James Academy is at St James's Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 3JE.