Outwood Academy Acklam

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Middlesbrough·TS5 7JY
Composite score
53.6
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#2,078
National rank
#91
In North East
#4
In Middlesbrough
Top 65%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
42.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
47%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
65%
% EBacc grade 5+
9%
EBacc average points score
3.75

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
136 first choices, 230 places
First choices per place
0.59
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
570
any preference, for 230 places
Last place offered lived
2.29 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 3685 m
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.05
00.511.5
1 per place
0.6920220.4520230.6420240.6420250.592026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,185
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
52.9%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
32.1%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
19.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.0%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
9.6%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
31.9%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.8
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,764
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
86%
257 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
84%
Apprenticeship
2%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Outwood Academy Acklam

Outwood Academy Acklam is a secondary school in Middlesbrough, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 1,185 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 42.9 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.6 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

47% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 65% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Outwood Academy Acklam their first choice was offered one of its 230 Year 7 places. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 2.29 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 86% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 9.6%. There are about 17.8 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 53% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Outwood Academy Acklam does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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