School Chooser

St Edward's Church of England Academy

Middle · ages 9-13MixedAcademyChurch of England662 pupilsLeekStaffordshire
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
61
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 40 to 77
Out of 100. Better than 57% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Primary phase: 30, below similar schools
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, September 2024
Reached the expected level at 1159%England 63%
Attendance93.7%England 91.4%
Pupils from low-income families16%Far fewer than most schools
Places106 spare662 pupils, 768 places
Pupils per teacher18.9School workforce census

St Edward's Church of England Academy is a converter academy in Leek for boys and girls aged 9 to 13. It has 662 pupils and room for 768. About 16 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 61 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 57% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Westwood Road, Leek, ST13 8DN01538 714740stedwards.academyMrs Katie Smith principalAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 September 2024, 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.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1159%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score104.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 62%62%20172018: 65%65%20182019: 66%66%20192023: 63%63%20232024: 62%62%20242025: 59%59%2025
Since 2017: -3%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017StaffordshireEngland
Pupils tested172164184185182172
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths59%62%63%66%65%62%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%3%5%15%18%8%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0105.0105.0104.0106.0103.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score104.0103.0103.0104.0104.0104.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0105.0106.0105.0107.0104.0105.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard74%77%76%71%79%70%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard76%71%73%80%74%80%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)72%77%79%86%86%82%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.7-1.9-1.0-2.8
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.7-2.1-2.3-1.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged36%39%29%58%52%48%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged64%68%70%68%69%65%

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. None of the 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
36%64%
Gap 28 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
63%55%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%7%
Gap 7 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

A few spare places687 pupils for 768 places, 2024/25
90% full

About 81 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 5% 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 Staffordshire 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 roll662Census January 2026
Places76886% full
Pupils from low-income families16%16% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support18%117 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%18 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.424 classes, January 2026; England 22.8
Classes with more than 30 pupils25%share of one-teacher classes; England 12%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)16%£138,850 extra funding in 2026/27; England 30%
Boys and girls329 / 333
White British pupils96%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (49), Specific learning difficulty (31), emotional and mental health (28), Autistic spectrum disorder (9), language and communications needs (9), Hearing impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll662695709723717716
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals16%15%15%16%12%10%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%2%1%2%2%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support18%16%14%14%12%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%2%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.

Attendance93.7%
England 91.4%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.3%
England 23.9%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils6.82024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission1.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.3%6.3%6.5%6.2%3.7%4.5%8.6%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.8%5.0%5.4%5.2%3.1%3.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.5%1.3%1.1%1.0%0.6%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.3%17.1%19.2%15.8%8.3%10.7%23.9%
SuspensionsSuspension rate6.85.86.44.32.1
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions10200

Staff and money

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

Teachers34.9full-time equivalent, 38 people
Pupils per teacher18.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers97%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,485
Teachers who left in the year9%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher5.42024/25

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£6,265England £7,965. Total £4.4m
Income per pupil£6,329England £8,423. Total £4.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,853England £4,444
Money in reserve14%A healthy amount put by: £625k, £899 per pupil. England 10%
Money in against money out+£45kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,265spent 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 m9612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate40 per 1,000 people56% lower than the England average
Typical house price£226,500Staffordshire Moorlands
Nearest bus stop100 mWestwood First School, 12 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
Westwood First SchoolAcademy170 m251Good 202362Compare
Woodcroft AcademyAcademy420 m138Good 202483Compare
Westwood CollegeAcademy710 m735Requires improvement 202420Compare
St Mary's Catholic AcademyAcademy760 m179Not inspected91Compare
All Saints CofE First SchoolAcademy0.9 miles228Good 202369Compare
Leek First SchoolAcademy1.2 miles133Good 202358Compare
Springfield SchoolAcademy1.3 miles73Good 2022Compare
The Meadows SchoolAcademy1.4 miles129Good 2019Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Edward's Church of England Academy with the 50 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 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats57%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 61 is 5 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 56 · highest 95100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Edward's Church of England 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
Walton Priory Middle SchoolCouncil15.3 miles542No overall grade 202572Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 61 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 61% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 40 to 77. 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%above
+0.19
Ofsted grade, 2.0 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.26
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.22
2024/25; 701 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 St Edward's Church of England Academy a good school?

It is about average. St Edward's Church of England Academy scores 61 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 57% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 40 to 77, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is St Edward's Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Edward's Church of England Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 24 September 2024.

How good are St Edward's Church of England Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 59% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Edward's Church of England Academy have?

662 pupils aged 9 to 13 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 768 places, so it is 86% full.

Is St Edward's Church of England Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 81 places were empty in 2024/25 (11% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Edward's Church of England Academy?

Pupils were in school 93.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Edward's Church of England Academy?

The average class had 26.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 25% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does St Edward's Church of England 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
Westwood Road, Leek, ST13 8DN
Telephone
01538 714740
Website
stedwards.academy
Principal
Mrs Katie Smith
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Middle school, ages 9-13
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Lichfield
Single-academy trust
St Edward's Church of England Academy Trust, Leek (1 schools)
Local authority
Staffordshire
Ward
Leek West
Constituency
Staffordshire Moorlands
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2013 (academy converter)
URN
139171 · LAESTAB 8604613 · UKPRN 10039968
Formerly
St Edward's CofE(VA) Junior High School

Where these figures come from