Blackfriars Academy
Blackfriars Academy is a special academy in Newcastle-under-Lyme for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 121 pupils, 1 more than it has places for. About 42 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Priory Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 2TF01782 987150blackfriarsacademy.org.ukMr Jamie Campbell academy principalAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 11 October 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
14 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 23 | 13 | 23 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | – | 0.5 | 44.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.71 | -1.71 | -1.92 | – | -1.93 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 61% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | – | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.01 | – | 0.00 | 3.77 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | 32% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | – | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | 0.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | – | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | – | 0.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | – | 0.6 | – | – |
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2016
3 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2016 | Staffordshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 3 | – | – |
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Staffordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Staffordshire with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (34), Physical disability (28), language and communications needs (20), Moderate learning difficulty (12), Severe learning difficulty (12), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 121 | 120 | 118 | 119 | 111 | 109 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 42% | 39% | 41% | 41% | 40% | 42% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 5% | 4% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 10.8% | 13.1% | 10.6% | 12.7% | 21.2% | 8.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 9.9% | 12.0% | 8.8% | 10.6% | 20.8% | 7.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 0.4% | 1.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 30.5% | 42.2% | 37.0% | 34.7% | 79.4% | 27.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 15 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 93% | 96% | 100% | 93% |
| Education | 93% | 96% | 100% | 93% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 4% | 0% | 7% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Giles' and St George's Church of England Academy | Academy | 170 m | 360 | Good 2023 | 35 | Compare |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 470 m | 444 | Good 2022 | 64 | Compare |
| Co-op Academy Friarswood | Academy | 500 m | 214 | Good 2023 | 94 | Compare |
| Hassell Primary School | Council | 600 m | 173 | Good 2023 | 28 | Compare |
| Coppice Academy | Academy | 750 m | 106 | No overall grade 2025 | – | Compare |
| Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group | Further education | 860 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| St John Fisher Catholic College | Academy | 900 m | 1,075 | Requires improvement 2023 | 11 | Compare |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme School | Independent | 970 m | 868 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Blackfriars Academy a good school?
Blackfriars Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in October 2023.
What is Blackfriars Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Blackfriars Academy outstanding at its last full inspection on 11 October 2023.
How many pupils does Blackfriars Academy have?
121 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 120 places, so it is 101% full.
What is attendance like at Blackfriars Academy?
Pupils were in school 89.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 31% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Blackfriars Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Blackfriars Academy have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Priory Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 2TF
- Telephone
- 01782 987150
- Website
- www.blackfriarsacademy.org.uk
- Academy Principal
- Mr Jamie Campbell
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- The Shaw Education Trust (31 schools)
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Ward
- Town
- Constituency
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 October 2014 (academy converter)
- URN
- 141448 · LAESTAB 8607026 · UKPRN 10047642
- Formerly
- Blackfriars School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2015/16.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.