Mercia Academy

Mercia Academy is a school in a period of recovery and improvement after significant disruption, including the closure of its building in November 2023 and a move to purpose-built temporary accommodation. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, and the school has recently joined the Lionheart Educational Trust. Inspectors found effective trust support, accurate self-evaluation, good behaviour and personal development, and effective safeguarding, with pupils generally feeling safe and benefiting from a broad range of opportunities. The main concern is the quality of education. The curriculum is well organised and ambitious, and reading is prioritised, but delivery is inconsistent. New learning is not always explained clearly, checks on pupils’ understanding are not consistently careful, and teaching does not always help pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, to produce high-quality work. As a result, some pupils do not progress through the curriculum as well as they should. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are strengths. Expectations for behaviour have been raised, most pupils behave well, attendance has improved significantly, and the broader development programme prepares pupils well for their next steps. However, attendance remains too low for some pupils, and the school needs to sustain its work to secure good attendance for all.

Strengths

• The curriculum is well organised and ambitious.
• Most teachers have secure subject knowledge and understand how the curriculum should be delivered.
• Reading is prioritised, with regular reading and well-thought-out support for pupils who need extra help.
• The school accurately identifies the needs of pupils with SEND and provides helpful information to teachers.
• The school has raised expectations for pupils’ behaviour, and most pupils behave well.
• Pupils feel safe and know they have an adult they can talk to if needed.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful, and most pupils are polite and respectful.
• The school provides a range of opportunities for pupils to develop talents and interests, including performing arts, sport and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
• The school has made significant efforts to improve attendance, and pupils’ attendance has improved significantly in a short space of time.
• The school has developed an effective programme for pupils’ broader development.
• Pupils receive effective careers advice and guidance and are well prepared for their next steps.
• The trust has provided effective support to the school, enabling improvement in all areas.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and are well supported by leaders.
• Staff receive regular professional development that is helping them deliver the curriculum increasingly effectively.
• Those responsible for governance provide effective support and challenge.
• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not delivered consistently well.
• New topics are not always explained clearly.
• Checks on pupils’ learning are not consistently careful enough.
• Key gaps in pupils’ knowledge and misconceptions are not consistently identified or addressed.
• As a result, pupils do not progress through the curriculum as well as they should.
• Teaching does not always support pupils, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to produce high-quality work.
• Some pupils make basic errors with punctuation and grammar.
• Some pupils do not complete their work in enough detail.
• Teaching does not address issues with pupils’ written accuracy and detail consistently well.
• The attendance of some pupils is too low, meaning they miss out on learning.

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 Mercia Academy attended 86.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.3% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Mercia Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Mercia Academy had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 25.3% of pupils at Mercia Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Mercia Academy received £9,133 and spent £8,115 for each of its 580 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £887,000 (£1,529 per pupil).

Across all 16 schools of Lionheart Educational Trust, income was £7,656 and spending £7,419 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 Swadlincote · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Mercia Academy is part of Lionheart Educational Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Newhall Junior School Swadlincote
• The Newbridge School Coalville
• Broom Leys School Coalville
• Greenstone Primary School Coalville
• The Castle Rock School Coalville
• The Martin High School Anstey Leicester
• Humphrey Perkins School Loughborough
• Hallam Fields, Birstall Leicester
• Highcliffe Primary School and Community Centre Leicester
• The Cedars Academy Leicester

What is Mercia Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mercia Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Mercia Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Mercia Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Mercia Academy have?

Mercia Academy has 592 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mercia Academy cover?

Mercia Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Mercia Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.7, and 29% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Mercia Academy?

Mercia Academy is at Sunnyside, Newhall, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0TL.