Castle Mead Academy

Castle Mead Academy has undergone its first routine inspection and has been rated as outstanding across all domains. The school demonstrates exceptional quality in education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. It emphasizes high expectations for all pupils, fostering an environment of safety and happiness, where every student is encouraged to excel academically and personally. The school's commitment to inclusivity, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), is evident through its tailored support and ambitious curriculum delivery.

Strengths

• Exceptional quality of education across all domains.
• High expectations and a supportive learning environment for all pupils.
• Strong focus on personal development through enriched activities.
• Effective strategies for supporting pupils with SEND.
• Highly skilled teachers who foster student independence and resilience.

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 Castle Mead Academy attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.0% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Castle Mead Academy 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 Castle Mead Academy had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.1% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Castle Mead Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.1% 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 Castle Mead Academy received £8,577 and spent £7,705 for each of its 1,243 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,175,000 (£946 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Mead Educational Trust, income was £8,481 and spending £7,789 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 Leicester · Leicester local authority: places and applications

Castle Mead Academy is part of The Mead Educational Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• Fosse Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• Brook Mead Academy Leicester
• Abbey Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• Knighton Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• North Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• Rushey Mead Academy Leicester
• Rowlatts Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• Oaklands Mead Academy Leicester
• Thurnby Mead Primary Academy Leicester
• Kestrel Mead Primary Academy Leicester

What is Castle Mead Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Castle Mead Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Castle Mead Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Castle Mead Academy was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Castle Mead Academy have?

Castle Mead Academy has 1,223 pupils on roll.

What age range does Castle Mead Academy cover?

Castle Mead Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Castle Mead Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.3, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Castle Mead Academy?

Castle Mead Academy is at Richard III Road, Leicester, LE3 5QT.