Ormiston NEW Academy

Ormiston New Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in Wolverhampton and part of Ormiston Academies Trust. It serves a disadvantaged community: 61% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, and the area is more deprived than average. It also includes specialist provision for 30 pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found a school with a strong culture: pupils behave very well, attendance is improving rapidly, and inclusion is a notable strength. Many pupils arrive with weak attendance or turbulent educational histories, and the school is effective at removing barriers and helping them belong and thrive. Leadership is highly ambitious and has a strong understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with a wide range of enrichment, effective careers guidance, and strong pastoral support. Progress and attainment are improving, and disadvantaged pupils achieve broadly in line with their peers nationally. However, achievement, curriculum and teaching, and post-16 provision are all at the expected standard rather than strong. Published outcomes in English and maths, Attainment 8, and A-level average point scores remain below national averages, even though the school's own progress information is more positive. The main next step identified by inspectors is to strengthen assessment practice so that gaps in pupils' knowledge are identified more consistently; in a small number of subjects, these gaps are not addressed as quickly as elsewhere. Overall, this is a rapidly improving and inclusive school with a very positive culture and strong leadership, but it needs to embed consistent assessment and continue improving academic outcomes, especially in the sixth form and published results.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Pupils behave extremely responsibly and kindly; bullying is rare and suspensions are reducing considerably.
• Attendance is improving consistently and quickly, with effective work to reduce barriers with families.
• Inclusion is strong, with rigorous identification of additional barriers and effective support.
• The school's support for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties is of particular note.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from effective teaching and take a full part in wider school life.
• Leaders are highly ambitious and have a deep understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.
• Staff feel well supported, listened to and proud to work at the school.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with strategic planning and a wide range of enrichment activities.
• Pupils receive effective careers guidance and the vast majority go on to positive destinations.
• Pupils typically achieve well from their starting points and progress is improving over time.
• The sixth form is inclusive and ambitious, with meticulous support for study and independent learning skills.
• The school is a hub for inclusion, sharing its practice across the trust and more widely.

Areas for Improvement

• Published GCSE outcomes in English and maths and Attainment 8 are below national averages.
• Assessment practice needs further development so gaps in pupils' knowledge are identified more consistently.
• In a small number of subjects, gaps in pupils' knowledge are not addressed as quickly as in other subjects.
• Post-16 A-level average point scores are below national averages.
• Destinations after 16 for 2023 leavers were below the national average.
• Overall absence and persistent absence, though improving, have been above national averages in recent years.
• Disadvantaged pupils still show a performance gap compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, despite improvement.

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 NEW Academy attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.9% 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, 5.9% of pupils at Ormiston NEW 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 NEW Academy had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Ormiston NEW Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% 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 Ormiston NEW Academy received £9,680 and spent £9,219 for each of its 1,067 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £806,000 (£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 Wolverhampton · Wolverhampton local authority: places and applications

Ormiston NEW Academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 41 schools. The nearest others:

• Ormiston SWB Academy Bilston
• Wodensborough Ormiston Academy Wednesbury
• Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy Walsall
• George Salter Academy West Bromwich
• Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy Oldbury
• Brownhills Ormiston Academy Walsall
• Ormiston Forge Academy Cradley Heath
• Ormiston Meridian Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Tenbury High Ormiston Academy Tenbury Wells

What is Ormiston NEW Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Ormiston NEW Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ormiston NEW Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Ormiston NEW Academy have?

Ormiston NEW Academy has 1,094 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ormiston NEW Academy cover?

Ormiston NEW Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Ormiston NEW Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.8, and 27% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ormiston NEW Academy?

Ormiston NEW Academy is at Marsh Lane, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV10 6SE.