School Chooser

Oakfield Academy

Middle · ages 9-13MixedAcademy490 pupilsFromeSomerset
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
3
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 1 to 7
Out of 100. Better than 13% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Primary phase: 2, well below similar schools
OfstedRequires improvementLast Ofsted inspection, January 2024
Reached the expected level at 1147%England 63%
Attendance91.6%England 91.4%
Pupils from low-income families32%A bit more than most schools
Places206 spare490 pupils, 696 places
Pupils per teacher15.9School workforce census

Oakfield Academy is a converter academy in Frome for boys and girls aged 9 to 13. It has 490 pupils and room for 696. About 32 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 3 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 13% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.

Oakfield Road, Frome, BA11 4JF01373 462539oakfieldacademy.co.ukMrs Michelle Parsons headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 23 January 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Requires improvement overall.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

128 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1147%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level6%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score100.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 60%60%20172018: 57%57%20182019: 46%46%20192023: 31%31%20232024: 43%43%20242025: 47%47%2025
Since 2017: -13%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SomersetEngland
Pupils tested128161143175166169
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths47%43%31%46%57%60%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths6%4%4%8%6%4%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0103.0103.0102.0105.0105.0105.1105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score100.0100.098.0100.0102.0103.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score101.0102.0101.0102.0103.0105.0104.5105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard63%70%54%60%74%73%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard55%50%39%53%60%75%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)72%78%69%71%82%78%
Reading progressReading progress score-3.0-2.9-1.9-1.0
Maths progressMaths progress score-6.3-5.1-3.6-2.4
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged24%22%15%26%37%29%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged59%51%38%53%62%73%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

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 4 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 the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
24%59%
Gap 35 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
58%39%
Gap 19 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
25%47%
Gap 22 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
2%6%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

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.

Plenty of spare places532 pupils for 696 places, 2024/25
76% full

164 places were empty (24% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 15% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 Somerset 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.

Pupils on roll490Census January 2026
Places69670% full
Pupils from low-income families32%32% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English5%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support16%76 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%24 pupils with a plan
Average class size25.618 classes, January 2026; England 22.8
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%share of one-teacher classes; England 12%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)31%£203,550 extra funding in 2026/27; England 30%
Boys and girls228 / 262
White British pupils91%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (32), emotional and mental health (31), language and communications needs (15), Specific learning difficulty (13), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll490529557608628663
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals32%30%29%24%20%18%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language5%5%3%3%3%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support20%22%15%18%17%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%5%5%4%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.

Attendance91.6%
England 91.4%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school22.7%
England 23.9%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils38.42024/25, 2 permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence8.4%8.2%8.3%9.7%4.7%4.8%8.6%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.6%6.7%6.7%8.1%3.9%3.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.8%1.5%1.6%1.6%0.8%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence22.7%23.9%21.5%27.5%11.7%8.7%23.9%
SuspensionsSuspension rate38.424.813.511.95.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions20000

Staff and money

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

Teachers30.8full-time equivalent, 32 people
Pupils per teacher15.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,136
Teachers who left in the year20%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.32024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£8,219England £7,965. Total £4.3m
Income per pupil£8,000England £8,423. Total £4.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,794England £4,444
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £373k, £705 per pupil. England 10%
Money in against money out-£116kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,219spent 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 m24612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate172 per 1,000 people89% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop50 mThe Old Nurseries, 10 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Trinity Church of England First SchoolAcademy180 m297Good 202369Compare
Critchill Special SchoolAcademy280 m96No overall grade 2024Compare
Wessex Lodge SchoolIndependent540 m77Not inspectedCompare
Avanti Park SchoolFree school820 m503Good 202471Compare
Vallis First SchoolCouncil900 m185No overall grade 202529Compare
St Louis Catholic Primary School, FromeAcademy970 m178No overall grade 202534Compare
St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided First School, FromeChurch of England0.8 miles185Requires improvement 20241Compare
Fromefield Manor SchoolIndependent0.9 miles17Not inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Oakfield 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.

Beats13%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 3 is 21 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 24 · highest 87100

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 Oakfield 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.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Selwood AcademyAcademy1.4 miles658Good 202245Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 3 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 3% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 7. 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 atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-1.01
Ofsted grade, 2.6 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.31
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.02
2024/25; 552 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
What pupils do next0%no data
What parents say0%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 Oakfield Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. Oakfield Academy scores 3 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 13% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 7, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Oakfield Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Oakfield Academy requires improvement at its last full inspection on 23 January 2024.

How good are Oakfield Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 47% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 6% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Oakfield Academy have?

490 pupils aged 9 to 13 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 696 places, so it is 70% full.

Is Oakfield Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 164 places were empty in 2024/25 (24% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Oakfield Academy?

Pupils were in school 91.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 23% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Oakfield Academy?

The average class had 25.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Oakfield 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
Oakfield Road, Frome, BA11 4JF
Telephone
01373 462539
Website
oakfieldacademy.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Michelle Parsons
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Middle school, ages 9-13
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership (44 schools)
Local authority
Somerset
Ward
Frome West
Constituency
Frome and East Somerset
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 August 2011 (academy converter)
URN
136970 · LAESTAB 9334257 · UKPRN 10034741
Formerly
Oakfield School

Where these figures come from