Ormiston Forge Academy
Wrights Lane, Cradley Heath, B64 6QU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ORMISTON ACADEMIES TRUST
- Principal
- Dr Lisa Mason
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Ormiston Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Halesowen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,950
- Pupils on roll
- 1,643
- URN
- 137673
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01384566598
About this school
Ormiston Forge Academy is a secondary academy in Cradley Heath. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,643 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 30 April 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 285 | 297 | 294 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.7 | 40.0 | 39.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.32 to +0.02 | -0.32 -0.48 to -0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 31% | 30.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 52.2% | 55.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 6.4% | 20.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
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 Ormiston Forge 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 | 40.7 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40 | 35.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.7 | 34.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,640 |
| 2023/24 | 1,686 |
| 2024/25 | 1,686 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ormiston Forge Academy compares
Ormiston Forge Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.7 | 9.8% | 41.1% | 1,643 | — |
| St Michael's Church of England High School | 48.9 | 7.7% | 38.8% | 1,213 | 0.8 miles |
| The Link Academy | 40.4 | 9.8% | 50.9% | 1,013 | 1.6 miles |
| The Earls High School | 48.2 | 7.4% | 21.1% | 1,304 | 1.7 miles |
| Windsor High School and Sixth Form | 46.5 | 8.3% | 28.7% | 1,710 | 1.7 miles |
| Leasowes High School | 41.8 | 9.8% | 31.4% | 1,043 | 1.9 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)
- 41.13%
- English as an additional language
- 13.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.78%
- Persistent absence
- 30.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Michael's Church of England High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Rowley Regis
-
The Link Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
The Earls High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Halesowen
-
Windsor High School and Sixth Form1.7 miles
Secondary · Halesowen
-
Leasowes High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Halesowen
Other schools in Cradley Heath
- Corngreaves Academy Primary
- Old Hill Primary School Primary
- Reddal Hill Primary School Primary
- Temple Meadow Primary School Primary
- Timbertree Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ormiston Forge Academy teach?
- Ormiston Forge Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Cradley Heath.
- Who is the principal of Ormiston Forge Academy?
- The principal of Ormiston Forge Academy is Dr Lisa Mason, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ormiston Forge Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ormiston Forge 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 Ormiston Forge Academy?
- Ormiston Forge Academy has 1,643 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ormiston Forge Academy full?
- Ormiston Forge Academy has capacity for 1,950 pupils and 1,643 on roll (84%), so it has space against 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 Ormiston Forge Academy a faith school?
- No. Ormiston Forge Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ormiston Forge Academy a selective school?
- No. Ormiston Forge Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ormiston Forge Academy?
- Ormiston Forge Academy is part of ORMISTON ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ormiston Forge Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.7 in 2022/23 and 39.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ormiston Forge Academy rank locally?
- Ormiston Forge Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ormiston Forge Academy's absence rate?
- Ormiston Forge Academy's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ormiston Forge Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ormiston Forge 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.