School Chooser

High Point Academy

Special · ages 11-16MixedFree school115 pupilsWednesburySandwell
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, May 2024
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance86.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families47%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull115 pupils, 96 places
Pupils per teacher14.6School workforce census

High Point Academy is a special free school in Wednesbury for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 115 pupils, 19 more than it has places for. About 47 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Friar Park Road, Wednesbury, WS10 0JS0121 594 0750highpoint.fet.acMrs Hayley Tinsley headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 8 May 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

9 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score6.8
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.49In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure20252024SandwellEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11911
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 86.89.342.746.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.49
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%9%35%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%18%57%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.170.323.684.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%30%41%

Subjects

Results came out for 3 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here
SciencesBiology8

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics80%0%0%53%
English Language80%0%0%54%
Biology80%0%0%82%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Getting a place

Open to all. There is no entrance test.

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 Sandwell council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll115Census January 2026
Places96120% full
Pupils from low-income families47%47% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English12%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%115 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)55%£69,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls89 / 26
White British pupils58%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (70), emotional and mental health (30), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Multi-sensory impairment (5), language and communications needs (3), Vision impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025202420232022
Pupils on roll115108967330
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals47%46%39%41%33%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language12%13%15%15%20%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 86.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance86.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school35.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils7.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission6.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/22England
Sessions missedOverall absence13.5%13.2%16.2%16.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence7.3%9.8%11.0%10.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence6.2%3.4%5.1%5.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence35.2%35.7%40.8%51.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate7.49.46.913.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers7.9full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher14.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants26.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,053
Teachers who left in the year45%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher6.52024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£24,722England £30,720. Total £2.7m
Income per pupil£31,028England £33,526. Total £3.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£9,093England £11,966
Money in reserve16%A healthy amount put by: £524k, £4,848 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£681kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£24,722spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m30412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate83 per 1,000 people9% lower than the England average
Typical house price£215,000Sandwell

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
The Priory Primary SchoolCouncil530 m458Report card 202663Compare
Park Hill Primary SchoolFoundation590 m231Report card 202622Compare
Tameside Primary AcademyAcademy640 m388Good 202380Compare
Hall Green Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles466Good 202348Compare
Wodensborough Ormiston AcademyAcademy0.6 miles1,119Report card 202519Compare
Mesty Croft PrimaryAcademy0.7 miles410Good 202312Compare
Joseph Leckie AcademyAcademy0.8 miles1,524Report card 202638Compare
Wood Green AcademyAcademy0.8 miles1,518Good 202052Compare

Questions parents ask

Is High Point Academy a good school?

High Point Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in May 2024.

What is High Point Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated High Point Academy good at its last full inspection on 8 May 2024.

How good are High Point Academy's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% 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 6.8, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does High Point Academy have?

115 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 96 places, so it is 120% full.

What is attendance like at High Point Academy?

Pupils were in school 86.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 35% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Friar Park Road, Wednesbury, WS10 0JS
Telephone
0121 594 0750
Website
highpoint.fet.ac
Headteacher
Mrs Hayley Tinsley
Type of school
Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Forward Education Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Sandwell
Ward
Friar Park
Constituency
Tipton and Wednesbury
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2021 (new provision)
URN
148400 · LAESTAB 3337000 · UKPRN 10088762

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from