Smestow Academy

School overview

Smestow Academy is a secondary school serving Wolverhampton, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. It has 552 pupils aged 11 to 18 on roll. Ofsted rated the school 'Inadequate' in November 2025. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 42.6 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.7 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

31% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Smestow Academy their first choice was offered one of its 85 Year 7 places. Overall pupil absence was 10.2%. There are about 11.9 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 55% 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. If you are considering Smestow Academy, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. 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.