Fir Vale Academy
similar schools
Fir Vale Academy is a converter academy in Sheffield for pupils aged 11 to 16. It has 931 pupils and room for 1,050. About 72 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 1 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Owler Lane, Sheffield, S4 8GB0114 243 9391firvale.comDanny Bullock headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 February 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
189 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Fir Vale School, the school this one replaced.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 189 | 182 | 180 | 194 | 185 | 178 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 25.7 | 25.5 | 26.8 | 29.2 | 34.4 | 31.3 | 45.2 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.09 | -1.09 | -1.14 | -0.20 | -0.20 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 19% | 11% | 17% | 20% | 17% | 16% | 44% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 33% | 27% | 28% | 38% | 40% | 37% | 64% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 2.04 | 2.17 | 2.19 | 2.33 | 3.03 | 2.71 | 4.01 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 7% | 15% | 13% | 12% | 56% | 62% | 40% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 19.9 | 17.3 | 17.6 | 20.8 | 25.8 | 24.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 39.5 | 40.2 | 41.0 | 40.9 | 44.1 | 38.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 10.9 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 14.8 | 17.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 48.1 | 57.5 | 59.6 | 53.4 | 51.5 | – | – |
† These results are for Fir Vale School, the school this one replaced in July 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
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 Sheffield council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (71), language and communications needs (59), Moderate learning difficulty (36), Hearing impairment (17), Specific learning difficulty (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (8).
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 77.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 23.0% | 14.7% | 13.9% | 12.4% | 8.8% | 9.5% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.9% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 4.1% | 2.9% | 3.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 17.1% | 12.0% | 10.4% | 8.2% | 5.9% | 6.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 58.7% | 50.9% | 49.1% | 41.5% | 32.6% | 34.3% | 23.9% |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Fir Vale School, the school this one replaced in July 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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 secondary 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 secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oasis Academy Don Valley | Academy | 1.1 miles | 1,116 | Report card 2026 | 7 | Compare |
| UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park | University technical college | 1.1 miles | 445 | Not inspected | 24 | Compare |
| Hinde House 2-16 Academy | Academy | 1.2 miles | 1,456 | Report card 2026 | 28 | Compare |
| Lift Firth Park | Academy | 1.3 miles | 1,115 | No overall grade 2025 | 3 | Compare |
| Astrea Academy Sheffield | Free school | 1.3 miles | 1,070 | Good 2022 | 59 | Compare |
| E-Act Parkwood Academy | Academy | 1.6 miles | 886 | Good 2023 | 30 | Compare |
| Mercia Northridge School | Academy | 2.1 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| UTC Sheffield City Centre | University technical college | 2.4 miles | 543 | No overall grade 2025 | 17 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Fir Vale Academy with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Fir Vale Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oasis Academy Don Valley | Academy | 1.1 miles | 1,116 | Report card 2026 | 7 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 1 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 1% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 0 to 1. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | well below | -1.07 | Ofsted grade, 1.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | well below | -0.94 | 2024/25; 996 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What pupils do next | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Fir Vale Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Fir Vale Academy scores 1 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 0 to 1, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Fir Vale Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Fir Vale Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 25 February 2025.
How good are Fir Vale Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 19% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 25.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Fir Vale Academy have?
931 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,050 places, so it is 89% full.
What is attendance like at Fir Vale Academy?
Pupils were in school 77.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 59% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Fir Vale Academy?
The average class had 22.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 6% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Fir Vale Academy have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Owler Lane, Sheffield, S4 8GB
- Telephone
- 0114 243 9391
- Website
- firvale.com
- Headteacher
- Danny Bullock
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Multi-academy trust
- United Learning Trust (98 schools)
- Local authority
- Sheffield
- Ward
- Burngreave
- Constituency
- Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 July 2025 (fresh start)
- URN
- 151851 · LAESTAB 3734018 · UKPRN 10098092
- Formerly
- Fir Vale School
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.
- 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.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- 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.