Sandwell Academy
Halfords Lane, West Bromwich, B71 4LG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THOMAS TELFORD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Saunders
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Thomas Telford School
- Constituency
- Smethwick
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,463
- URN
- 134993
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215251700
About this school
Sandwell Academy is a secondary academy in West Bromwich. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,463 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 196 | 198 | 202 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.9 | 47.7 | 49.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.01 -0.19 to +0.21 | -0.13 -0.33 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 47.5% | 52% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 70% | 70.2% | 72.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 52% | 49.5% | 56.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Sandwell Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sandwell average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.9 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.7 | 35.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 | 34.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,325 |
| 2023/24 | 1,384 |
| 2024/25 | 1,461 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sandwell Academy compares
Sandwell Academy ranked 2nd of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.1 | 6.9% | 30.6% | 1,463 | — |
| St John Wall Catholic School | 44.7 | 8% | 60.3% | 591 | 0.9 miles |
| Holyhead School | 43.2 | 6.7% | 62% | 1,257 | 0.9 miles |
| Holly Lodge High School College of Science | 42.1 | 7.4% | 44.1% | 1,636 | 1.1 miles |
| Windsor Olympus Academy | — | 6.8% | 69.4% | 533 | 1.3 miles |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys | 72 | 5.4% | 19.7% | 1,054 | 1.5 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.55%
- English as an additional language
- 47.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.92%
- Persistent absence
- 21.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John Wall Catholic School0.9 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Holyhead School0.9 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Holly Lodge High School College of Science1.1 miles
Secondary · Smethwick
-
Windsor Olympus Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys1.5 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in West Bromwich
- George Salter Academy Secondary
- Shireland Biomedical Utc Secondary
- Shireland CBSO Academy Secondary
- The Phoenix Collegiate Secondary
- West Bromwich Collegiate Academy Secondary
- All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Eaton Valley Primary School Primary
- Hall Green Primary School Primary
- Hanbury Primary School Primary
- Hargate Primary School Primary
- Harvills Hawthorn Primary School Primary
- Hateley Heath Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sandwell Academy teach?
- Sandwell Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in West Bromwich.
- Who is the headteacher of Sandwell Academy?
- The headteacher of Sandwell Academy is Mr James Saunders, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sandwell Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sandwell Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Sandwell Academy?
- Sandwell Academy has 1,463 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Sandwell Academy full?
- Sandwell Academy has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,463 on roll (117%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Sandwell Academy a faith school?
- No. Sandwell Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Sandwell Academy a selective school?
- No. Sandwell Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Sandwell Academy?
- Sandwell Academy is part of THOMAS TELFORD MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sandwell Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.9 in 2022/23 and 49.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sandwell Academy rank locally?
- Sandwell Academy ranked 2nd of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sandwell Academy's absence rate?
- Sandwell Academy's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sandwell Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sandwell Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.