Erasmus Darwin Academy
Pool Road, Burntwood, WS7 3QW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- PRIMITAS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Principal
- Mr Phil Walklate
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Lichfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,084
- Pupils on roll
- 1,112
- URN
- 136886
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01543685828
About this school
Erasmus Darwin Academy is a secondary academy in Burntwood. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,112 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 17 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 185 | 186 | 185 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.2 | 50.3 | 47.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.13 to +0.27 | +0.27 +0.06 to +0.47 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 51.6% | 44.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 75.3% | 70.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 9.7% | 15.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
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 Erasmus Darwin 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 | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.2 | 36.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 50.3 | 35 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.8 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,141 |
| 2023/24 | 1,130 |
| 2024/25 | 1,128 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Erasmus Darwin Academy compares
Erasmus Darwin Academy ranked 12th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.8 | 7.3% | 18.9% | 1,112 | — |
| Brownhills Ormiston Academy | 37.1 | 9.4% | 50.8% | 778 | 1.0 miles |
| Chase Terrace Academy | 44.3 | 9.6% | 22.9% | 1,172 | 1.1 miles |
| Norton Canes High School | 34.8 | 9.3% | 36.7% | 400 | 1.5 miles |
| Shire Oak Academy | 35 | 15.3% | 40.9% | 1,149 | 2.4 miles |
| Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy | 38.4 | 9.9% | 46.5% | 1,419 | 3.1 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)
- 18.87%
- English as an additional language
- 3.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.32%
- Persistent absence
- 18.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brownhills Ormiston Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Chase Terrace Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Burntwood
-
Norton Canes High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Cannock
-
Shire Oak Academy2.4 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Walsall
Other schools in Burntwood
- Chase Terrace Academy Secondary
- Boney Hay Primary Academy Primary
- Chase Terrace Primary School Primary
- Fulfen Primary School Primary
- Highfields Primary Academy Primary
- Holly Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Ridgeway Primary Academy Primary
- Springhill Primary Academy Primary
- St Joseph & St Theresa Catholic Primary School Primary
- Chasetown Community School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Erasmus Darwin Academy teach?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Burntwood.
- Who is the principal of Erasmus Darwin Academy?
- The principal of Erasmus Darwin Academy is Mr Phil Walklate, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Erasmus Darwin Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Erasmus Darwin 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 Erasmus Darwin Academy?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy has 1,112 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Erasmus Darwin Academy full?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy has capacity for 1,084 pupils and 1,112 on roll (103%), 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 Erasmus Darwin Academy a faith school?
- No. Erasmus Darwin Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Erasmus Darwin Academy a selective school?
- No. Erasmus Darwin Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Erasmus Darwin Academy?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy is part of PRIMITAS LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Erasmus Darwin Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.2 in 2022/23 and 47.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Erasmus Darwin Academy rank locally?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy ranked 12th of 56 secondary schools in Staffordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Erasmus Darwin Academy's absence rate?
- Erasmus Darwin Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Erasmus Darwin Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Erasmus Darwin 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.